


Tumblr Prompt Collection

by wearealltalesintheend



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Christmas Fluff, Comic Book Science, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Prompt Fic, Tumblr Prompt, so much fake dating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 06:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 35,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17095445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearealltalesintheend/pseuds/wearealltalesintheend
Summary: A compilation of all my prompt fills that grew a little too long. A few of them are connected, but all can be read separately.





	1. Danvers Sisters

**Author's Note:**

> hey, thank you to the Anon who gave me the idea to store all my prompt fills here!

**with a little help from my friends**

 

“Do you even know what time is it?”

Kara yelps, her fingers missing the key she’d been aiming for and her knee spasms, banging on the desk. All in all, if Alex’s goal had been startling her into making a fool of herself, then mission accomplished. She glares at her sister, rubbing her sore knee while deleting the nonsensical string of letters she’d accidentally typed. “When did you get here?”

“Snappy,” Alex shakes her head, turning all the lights on in the room without mercy for Kara’s poor, used-to-the-dark eyes. “That’s no good. I’d say it’s a level 4 already.”

The word document stares blankly at Kara. Kara stares blankly at Alex. “I know you’re talking words,” she frowns, “but it makes no sense to me.”

“We call it the “5 stages of workaholic!Kara”, her sister explains, dropping down on the unmade bed. That’s– that can’t be right. Kara always makes her bed. Right? “Winn named it, of course. Right now, we’re at a 4– that’s grumpy!Kara.”

“I’m not grumpy!” She frowns harder, glaring at her stupid computer that refuses to let her write her stupid story. “I’m just busy, that’s all. I need to finish this until Wednesday but words are hard and English is stupid.”

Alex makes a face. “Damn. I can’t tell, are we going to de-escalate back to 3, or level up to 5– that’s full-on Cat Grant!Kara, by the way. It is by far the scariest Kara on the list.”

_ “Alex!”  _ Kara half-whines, half-complains. She glowers at her sister, knowing anything she says would only be further proof for Winn’s stupid scale. “I have a  _ deadline.” _

“You also have not left your apartment in a day and a half.”

“I stopped that robbery on the fifth street,” she crosses her arms, leaning back on her chair, “and that fire on the Hotel near City Hall.”

“Okay, I’ll rephrase that,” Alex gives her a  _ look,  _ “Kara Danvers has not left her apartment in a day and a half.  _ And  _ we are all very worried about her.”

And that is so sweet of them, Kara knows, but she’s not sure exactly what they of the week it is and she still has to write half of her article and then edit it, and every time she re-reads what she already wrote, it seems more and more like garbage and she wants to delete the whole thing.

It’s just that being Supergirl is very time consuming, and Kara Danvers has been shrinking under the responsibility of saving the city, so time is– there’s not enough time, okay?

“I know you have a lot going on,” Alex continues, voice softer in a way that reminds Kara of when they were kids and things like grades and school and college applications seemed like the most important things in the whole wide world. “But you’ve got to take a break. You can’t keep pushing yourself like this, you’ll burn out.”

“My deadline–” 

“Is two days away. So,” she says, walking over to the desk, “save your document, and let’s go, because you know what I have?  _ Mom’s cookies.” _

That gives Kara pause. 

“Eliza’s chocolate chip cookies?”

Alex snickers at her hopeful tone, closing the laptop for Kara. “Yes. But cookies are only for people that leave their room.”

Kara scrunches up her face, thinking of the pros and cons of letting her sister bribe her into the living room. Eliza’s cookies  _ are  _ the most wonderful food in the world, she supposes.  _ “Fine,”  _ she drags the vowels, sighing long-suffering, “I guess it wouldn’t kill me to stop for five minutes– but!” She narrows her eyes, pointing her finger threateningly, “only five minutes.”

“Whatever you say,” Alex grins, holding up her hands in front of her, “I’m willing to compromise.”

She feels a matching smile slowly spreading on her face. “Let’s go, then.”

The chair screeches against the tiled floor of her apartment, and Kara winces a little. Now that she’s up and stretching, she can feel the soreness of her limbs from staying sitting for too long, and okay,  _ maybe,  _ Alex has a point.

But the moment she opens the door, Kara realizes she’s been set up.

_ This is a trap. _

On her living room, all of their friends are waiting for them,  _ Singing in the Rain  _ paused on the TV. J’onn raises his glass in greeting from his seat in the couch, and beside him, James waves a hand. Lena smiles from the loveseat, picking up the popcorn bowl to make space beside her. Nia says a quick  _ hi,  _ flashing a bright grin, before going back to coaxing Brainy to  _ maybe, not stand so close to the TV? _

Kara squints, hands on her hips. “This is an intervention,” she accuses, but she can’t muster up any bite on her voice. It’s a tragedy, really, that she can’t get mad at them for this. “You tricked me!  _ Alex!  _ You promised me cookies!”

Her sister laughs, walking around her to sit at the couch, squeezed between J’onn and the armrest, and offers Kara a Tupperware like a white flag made out of chocolate chips. 

And with the controlled chaos of her living room, it’s a peace offer Kara is unable to turn down. She  _ can  _ finish her story later, she supposes. And even if she falls asleep halfway through, well. There wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world she’d rather be.

****  
  
  


 

 


	2. Alex Danvers & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: "This is the opposite of what I told you to do!"**

**ain't no car too smart for me**

Alex has no idea how they ended up here. She swears her day hasn’t started like this. 

 

No, scratch that. 

 

Her day had started exactly like this. Waking up to a phone call from Kara is never a good thing. Her sister never calls if she can help it, so Alex really should’ve known this would end up being a disaster. 

 

If she hadn’t been still half-asleep, she’s sure she would’ve told Kara where she can shove her suggestions.

 

“Alex, this is a waste of time,” Brainy says, frowning down at the wheel, “I cannot see why I would require driving lessons.”

 

A disaster, indeed.

 

“I have been piloting the Legion cruiser since it was built,” he continues, “and countless other ships before that. I assure you, a  _ car  _ is nothing compared to 31st-century technology.”

 

“Okay, then,” Alex takes a deep breath, smiling tightly. “Turn on the car.”

 

Brainy nods, waving his hands like he used to do on the Cruiser, and frowning when nothing happens. “Oh, of course. No interactive holographic interface yet, I see, but there should be a button,” he starts groping around the wheel and the dashboard, “or perhaps a lever,” he accidentally presses down at the car horn and they both wince at the loud screeching.

 

Alex grimaces, pointing at the ignition. “The key. You have to turn the key.”

 

The engine roars to life and they sit idling in the curb of the back of Alex’s building. Brainy stares at the dashboard like it personally betrayed him. “This is more rudimentary than I previously thought,” he comments as he starts exploring, shifting the side view mirror, turning on the windshield wiper and the left turn signal. 

 

“Look,” Alex begins cautiously, “this car? It’s kind of pretty analog, okay? So we’ll have to do this the ol’ human way.”

 

“I’m beginning to understand that, yes,” he agrees, looking forlornly at the admittedly very old radio. But it vanishes in a blink, quickly snapping back to his usual confident self. “But not to worry. I have read every regulation on driving and a number of– they are called youtube tutorials, I believe– on the way here. This shall be no challenge.”

 

_ Oh, god.  _

 

“Okay, that’s–  _ good,  _ yes, good. So we can skip on that part.” She watches as he adjusts his hands on the wheel into a classic textbook picture. “Great, you got that right already, so let’s just get to it.” Alex takes a deep breath, wondering what exactly about her entire personality told Kara she would be a good driving teacher. “First, put on your seatbelt.” Brainy does, diligently clicking it in place. “Great. Now, we already started the engine, so you’ve got to press down on the clutch pedal– yeah, that one on the left.”

 

He obeys without complaint, and Alex relaxes a little, thanking any deity out there that her old car is still working, even if it’s been years since she took it for a drive. She can’t remember the last time she sat down on the driver’s seat– four? Five years ago? It was definitely before working to the DEO. She really does prefer her bike, after all.

 

Brainy shifts to first gear without her needing to tell him to, a smooth enough transition that Alex is actually impressed– maybe those tutorials are paying off. “Well, this is less challenging than expected. I think I am ‘getting the hang of this’.” He presses down on the accelerator carefully and lets off the clutch just as slowly. It has the same calculated precision Kara used to get in the beginning, back when she was still afraid she would crush the world with the slightest touch. The frown of concentration on his face is quite familiar too, and  _ fine,  _ maybe Alex can see why Kara asked her to do this. “Now, the handbrake and–  _ there.”  _ The car begins moving slowly, stuttering forward in stilted bursts of movement, and Brainy scrambles to adjust the steering wheel. He grins, “where to, Director Danvers?” 

 

She can’t help smiling back, reassuring herself that the streets behind her building are usually deserted on Sundays. “Well,” Alex shrugs, pushing her sunglasses back down, “I, for one, would love to see Kara’s face when she sees you parallel parking.”

 

“Then, shall we go?” Brainy pauses, staring down at the radio again until music suddenly burst through the speakers, one of her old CDs she probably forgot inside, and he nods to himself, pleased. 

 

This was surprisingly easier than Alex imagined, except– 

 

– Brainy floors the gas pedal and the car screeches forward, tires shrieking against the asphalt, and startling him into jerking the wheel to the side and lurching them sideways halfway into the curb– 

 

“The brakes!” Alex shouts above the song, clutching the armrest for dear life, “press down the brakes!”

 

The car jerks forward again and Alex cringes, “that’s the gas pedal! This is the opposite of what I told you to do!” Another lurch. “No,  _ no–  _ the other one, the one on the right! Yes, thank god.”

 

The music whistles cheerfully on as Alex pulls up the handbrake and turns the ignition off. She blinks at the windshield a few times, catching her breath, and steadily pretending not to notice Brainy fidgeting beside her.

 

“Alex,” Brainy finally says, sheepishly, “I believe I will require those driving lessons, after all.”

 

Yeah, no kidding, buddy. “Yeah,” she smiles as kindly as she can, “I think maybe parallel parking is a bit too soon.”

  
  



	3. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Following their family traditions that they enjoy.**

**all I want for Christmas**

 

  
  


Christmas carols cheerfully drift from the speakers as the smell of cinnamon and ginger fill the air all throughout the apartment. A gingerbread house with gingerbread men and gingerbread women and gingerbread children cool in the kitchen table, mistletoe and wreaths decorate the windows, while candles cast the living room in warm flickering light.

 

‘Tis the season to be jolly.

 

“We need more lights. Yup, we definitely need more light– Kara, I swear to god if you hang anymore of that crappy creepy angels, I’m going to lock you and your terrible taste out of this apartment,” Alex glares, crossing her arms over her chest as she takes a step back to judge the giant tree in the living room. She grimaces, lips thinning in a flat line, and she shakes her head in despair. “This is a disaster. Mom will be here in– T-minus three hours. And we need more lights. Okay, that’s it. I’m going out.”

 

Kara ducks behind the tree to hide her snicker, the chipped little angel still cradled in her hands and a box of Christmas decorations at her feet. She had rescued them from Eliza’s attic earlier this week, and while they might be a bit old and cracked, it reminds her so much of  _ home  _ and happy Christmas dinners full of laughter and the giddy waiting with Alex for the strike of midnight to sneak downstairs and have a peek at their gifts.

 

She’s always been a sucker for Christmas cliches.

 

“Where should I put this?” Brainy whispers, offering her a red-and-gold cloud of tinsel tangled hopelessly in his arms. He frowns uncomprehending down at it like it’s a puzzle he can’t quite figure out yet. “I asked Alex but she didn’t make much sense. Are you positive she is alright?”

 

“Yeah, she just gets a little…  _ intense  _ around the holidays,” Kara shrugs helplessly, torn between resigned amusement and sheepish guilt at subjecting someone else to her sister’s Christmas-fueled wrath. The front door slams closed. “Sorry about that. But it does get better once Eliza shows up. And after she fights off the horde of last-minute shoppers at Walmart for the Christmas lights, that should cheer her up, probably.”

 

He blinks, nodding in understanding, and Kara thinks she can see relief in there too. “I understand. She seems to want everything to be perfect, I can’t fault her for that.”

 

The little angel with its chipped left-wing stares up sadly at Kara. So much for perfection. “Alex takes this very seriously,” she explains, hanging the ornament half-hidden in the branches before helping him unwrap the tinsel from his arms and picking off strings of gold and red that stick stubbornly to his sweater. “Even when we were kids– Eliza always had us in charge of decoration, you know, it’s kind of tradition by now. It didn’t always snow, but it was always my favorite time of the year.”

 

And watching Brainy weave the tinsel around the tree with careful concentration, Kara thinks she understands what James means on his rants about photography because right now her fingers are itching for a camera to make sure this is a memory she gets to keep, a moment that won’t fade away with time. 

 

Affection swells on her chest, warm and unbridled. “Thanks for coming by to help with the decorations, by the way,” she says, grinning, “I know things have been busy lately, and you probably have a lot going on, and this Christmas thing is not really your thing, so. Thanks.”

 

Brainy doesn’t answer right away, choosing to finish his task first, but when he looks up, Kara thinks it’s with the clearest light in his eyes that she’s seen in days, as if all twelve lines of thoughts might just be here, now, in Kara’s living room, hanging cheesy Christmas decorations. “There is no need to thank me, Kara,” he tentatively smiles back one of his rare, genuine smiles, and it still steals the air from Kara’s lungs like it always does. “This is clearly very important to you, and it clearly makes you happy. I may not understand the specifics behind this holiday, but I cannot find anything more important to me than you. Therefore,” Brainy draws out the last syllable, following the tangle of wires around Kara until he finds the tiny switch. The tree lights up in a burst of color, twinkling like a private constellation of tiny blinking stars, and Kara is lost in a Wonderland of her own. “Merry Christmas,” he says softly, then amends, “in advance.”

 

Kara looks at Brainy, framed by candlelight and hundreds Christmas lights, and everything seems to be painted in dreamlike shades. Her life might not be a fairytale, but when she kisses him until the world is spinning off track, it feels a lot like happily ever after.  
  



	4. Brainy/ Winn Schott, Jr.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: “we can’t go back in time, so stop trying to reverse what you said.”**

**so let's go back to the start**

Querl had, admittedly, run countless simulations of Winn’s return. It’s the kind of thing he couldn’t stop himself from doing, late at night after everyone has already gone home and the DEO is silent, breathing quietly the night sounds. He had laid on his bed and thought about all the different ways his return could go.

 

This has not been one of them.

 

( if he had to choose, if he  _ could  _ choose, Querl would say he’d like the scenario where at the end of the day Querl’s bed doesn’t feel so cold and so empty, but that is something he’d rather not dwell on. One cannot choose, after all, so it is pointless, he supposes )

 

“So, why don’t you get off your  _ goddamn  _ high horse,” Winn is still speaking, a hurt sort of hissing, like he’s too tired to shout, too much like a wounded animal to waste energy on fighting. “And– no, you know what? I just traveled through a wormhole, okay, I helped save the freaking  _ future,  _ I don’t have to deal with this bullshit.”

 

If he’s being honest, and Querl tries to always be, even if it’s hard to do so in this century when each word must be carefully chosen, lest he messes something up in the future, he’s not sure how they ended up here. 

 

Fighting had never been his intention.

 

All he wished was to talk with Winn, but it seems he forgot they had never been very good at talking without arguing. Querl had run hundreds of simulations, but he supposes he did not account for the things Winn went through in the 31st century or his own way of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. “If you would let me explain, you would see I did not intend to offend–”

 

_ “You told me I should’ve stayed in the future!” _

 

Querl did say that, yes, but what he had meant was:  _ this time does not deserve you. Imagine what you could do with all the right tools. You are meant for greater things.  _

 

_ I do not want to leave you behind. _

 

But somewhere between what he  _ meant  _ and what he  _ said,  _ the words had become jumbled and tangled in semantics and it came out all wrong. “While that is true, I did not mean to imply there was no place for you here, or that you are not capable of doing a remarkable job with such a rudimentary technology.”

 

Winn scoffs, whirling around to face him, and Querl thinks he understands a little better what people mean by  _ wearing your heart in your sleeve.  _ It makes his chest ache, a stabbing pain that seems to travel with his bloodstream. “Okay,  _ fine,  _ I’ll bite.  _ What _ did you mean?”

 

It should be easy for Querl to explain himself, he is, after all, a twelfth-level intellect, words should come to him without hesitation.

 

And yet. He does not know what to say. Winn is looking at him as if waiting for the one  _ right  _ answer, and Querl isn’t entirely sure he knows which one it is.

 

But it’s too late. He sees the disappointment clinging in the shake of his head, sees  _ resignation  _ written all over it, and that is so much worse.

 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Winn begins walking down the hallway again, but doesn’t clarify if this conversation is over, so Querl follows. Approximately 2.3 meters later, Winn talks again, voice wary with a heaviness that has never lined it before. “Look, dude. That fancy ship of yours? Still not a time machine. Trust me, I would know, I’ve been driving it around for the last six months, okay? We can’t go back in time, so stop trying to reverse what you said.”

 

Lena Luthor had told him to gather all these feelings and shove them into boxes. It was a most effective method, and Querl did as she taught him, folded all these confusing emotions in cardboard boxes and labeled them accordingly, to maybe revisit later. They are all stacked neatly in the back of his mind, piled carefully in a growing tower.

 

Now, it kind of feels like they are toppling down.

 

They fall open, spilling their contents all over the floor and Lena did not prepare him for this. 

 

It is… terrifying.

 

“Perhaps,” Querl hears himself saying, “we should start again? It seems you are not very good at listening to what I am trying to say.”

 

“I’m not–  _ seriously?”  _ Winn’s voice raises in frustration and a group of DEO agents throws troubled looks in their direction, detouring in the hallway with quick strides, giving them a wide berth. Winn shifts, glaring at them instead of at Querl for a change, “oh no.  _ Oh no.  _ Okay, this is  _ not  _ a Han-and-Leia situation– don’t you _ Han-and-Leia  _ us, you assholes!”

 

From what Querl remembers of Kara’s movie nights, and it would be impossible for him to forget, he took notes, Winn must be referring to Han Solo and Leia Organa.

 

Maybe–

 

Maybe, not all is lost, there is hope yet.

 

“Perhaps,” Querl clears his throat, tries again, “shall we start again?”

  
  



	5. Brainy/Winn Schott, Jr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Holding their hands when they are shaking.**

**if you need help,** **I'll shut down the city lights ( I'll lie, cheat, I'll beg and bribe to make you well )**

Winn knew from the moment he left that nothing would be the same when he came back. Like, he had no delusions thinking nothing would change.

 

But a country in the brink of a civil war is so not what he had expected.

 

Seriously, is no one worried about the whole Nazi vibe going on here?

 

And Supergirl being fired, what’s up with that? 

 

There is so much going on, it’s terribly overwhelming in the worst possible way, and Winn feels like he’s always struggling to catch up before something bad happens. Except, it’s already kinda happening, isn’t it?

 

“As you all know, effective immediately, it will be tolerated nothing but full transparency from all government agencies,” Colonel Haley, or, as Winn prefers to call her, Colonel Umbridge, announces, and he sees Alex clenching her jaw beside her. “That being said, this is  _ not  _ a witch hunt. I do not want to fire any more agents, what happened with Supergirl is an exception, not the rule.”

 

Is she for real? Winn scoffs, rolling his eyes, because this is the definition of a witch hunt, okay? It doesn’t stop being one just because she went up there and said so, that’s not how this works. Alex glares at him, and  _ fine,  _ yeah, stay on the down low, he knows. But man, he saved the future, he fought Brainy’s evil family, okay, he should get more than a  _ get back to work  _ from Umbridge over there.

 

Talking about Brainy, Winn glances at him, standing stiffly beside him. He’s using the personal image inducer, and his hands are clenched at his side like he’s trying very hard to keep them that way. Winn sort of gets why he decided to stay a little longer, he gets why Brainy would want to see this through, Alex told him what happened at the pizza place, but it doesn’t make it any easier to stand here and watch with worry nagging at him to do something.

 

Something like maybe stay inside Winn’s apartment, locked safely inside with blankets and hot chocolate and anything else Brainy might possibly want, watching movies until the world goes back to normal. 

 

But that’s not the kind of thing Winn likes to dwell on.

 

Because here’s the thing, Winn doesn’t have exactly a great track with crushes. Or timing, for that matter. Look at this time around, he went to the future! While Brainy stayed in the past! Like some goddamn space odyssey, it’s ridiculous really.

 

“But,” Colonel Haley continues like she isn't about to dig herself a deeper grave, “on the spirit of transparency and good faith, any and all alien employees must come forward until the end of the day. Your contract will not be terminated, you will only be required to wear this on your right shoulder,” she holds up a red patch for them all to see, “so the public can know what you are.”

 

Okay, this is just– they’re not even trying to hide it anymore! “Isn’t this dangerous?” And shit, right, he hadn’t meant to speak out loud, but now the Colonel is watching him like a particularly blood-thirsty hawk and the words are still spilling from his mouth because Winn has never been really good at being quiet. “For them, I mean. With this whole Agent of Liberty thing going on?”

 

Alex is glaring at him like never before, if looks could kill, Winn would so, so dead by now. She glares some more, before turning to her superior, a not very good fake smile on her face. “What Agent Schott meant to ask, ma’am, is if we wouldn’t be encouraging extremist actions with things like this?”

 

That’s one way to put it, Winn supposes. Colonel Haley scoffs, “not at all. With Agent of Liberty in custody, his organization is over. We cut off the head, now we let it bleed out on its own.” She smiles with a mouth full of sharp teeth that glint in the artificial light, “it’s a right of every citizen to know who is working on their government. Besides, it will be good press, won’t it? If they see an alien saving their life?”

 

The last sentence is said so flippantly that Winn can see Alex going through all five stages of grief and using up all her strength to stop herself from throttling their oh-so-dear superior officer.

 

“You’re all dismissed,” she waves them off, calling back before stalking to her office, “and remember– until the end of the day, agents.”

 

The door slams shut, echoing like a gunshot.

 

Everyone more or less scatters, going back to their stations like nothing’s wrong, and it makes Winn feel a tiny bit better when he glimpses Alex marching down after military Umbridge with hellfire in her eyes.

 

A crashing sound beside him snaps Winn back to reality. “My apologies,” Brainy hastily throws his way, bending down to pick up a fallen– yeah, no, Winn has no idea what that is. He’s going with ‘random piece of tech’. “I seem to be a little clumsy today.”

 

Brainy isn’t very good at making up things on the spot, and even if his fingers hadn’t been shaking so noticeably as he places the cube-shaped thing back on his desk, his face would still be as see-through as glass. For someone who’s part-robot, Brainy has a terrible poker face.

 

Or maybe, Winn is just good at knowing him.

 

“Hey,” he says, sitting down heavily in the chair beside him, spinning until he can face Brainy and their knees are touching. “You okay, man?”

 

“What? Oh, yes. Yes, I am, thank you,” Brainy nods, but his eyes follow Winn’s gaze, darting quickly back up, and his hands wrap around the cube as if the anxiety wouldn’t exist as long as they didn’t see the shaking. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a few things I need to work on–”

 

“Brainy,” Winn starts, pausing to look around, check if anyone’s listening in, but no one’s paying attention to them. Still, he lowers his voice anyway. God knows these walls have very good ears. “Look, I know things are scary right now, and Colonel Haley is really going for the whole fascist dictator thing, but you don’t have to be fine all the time, okay? No one’s gonna blame you for being freaked out.”

 

There’s a moment of silence where Brainy doesn’t say anything, looking down at the cube on his hands like it holds the answer for all of their questions. “I–  _ thank you,”  _ he finally says, clearing his throat before whispering back, “I will admit I have not decided yet on the best course of action, because, you see, I believe the Colonel got a hold of something to disrupt out personal image inducers. If this is true, then perhaps coming forward would be preferable.”

 

Shit. That’s– that’s fucked up on a whole new level. “What? Oh my–  _ oh my god.  _ Is that even legal? And didn’t Lena fix whatever bug it had to make it hacker-proof?”

 

“Yes,” Brainy nods, scanning the room again for eavesdroppers, and leans in closer, “she did, and we already went over the code twice. There is no way to bypass security. No, whatever this is, it must work in a different way.”

 

Winn frowns, ignoring the fluttering going on somewhere between his heart and his guts. “Maybe, if we figure out how this thing works, we can beat it, so you won’t have to out yourself. We let people know, so no one has to.”

 

Brainy blinks, looking at Winn with a surprise that would be kind of hurtful if it wasn’t so tinted with pride and adoration. It makes his heart go rabbit-quick and tastes a lot like hope. “Yes, why didn’t I– no matter, this could actually work. Winn, will you work with me on this? I cannot be trusted to act on the best of my abilities, I’m afraid the events of this morning have compromised me more than I’d initially expected.” A pause, “and moreover, I find your presence… enjoyable.”

 

His mouth dries in the time that it takes to process Brainy’s last words, and Winn can only nod in response. Around them, the room is nearly empty, as everyone leaves for lunch and the next agents haven’t arrived yet for the change of shifts, only a few scattered people still packing their things. Without the worry for evesdroppers, they could ease back a little, lean away from each other, but Brainy doesn’t seem to mind sharing his personal space in this case. 

 

“It is settled, then,” he continues, “but we should do this somewhere else. The Colonel will already be on high alert until her deadline is over.”

 

“We could ask Lena, I’m sure L-Corp has a few labs to spare,” Winn grins, feeling victory drumming underneath his skin, “we have a little over six hours to figure this out,” and then, because Brainy still looks a little wavering on his certainty, Winn carefully extricates the tech cube from his white-knuckled hold, covering his hands with his own when they shake without something to cling to. And then, because it’s so easy and Winn can’t think of a good enough reason not to, he entwines their fingers together, feeling the shaking echoing on his bones, his thumb brushing soothing circles on the back of Brainy’s hands. “Hey, don’t worry, okay? We  _ will  _ figure something out.”

 

Brainy nods, smiling a shaky sort of smile but with eyes shining with courage. He squeezes Winn’s hands back. “I know we will.”   
  



	6. Charlie/Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Giving them a back massage when they flop on the couch or bed**
> 
> .

**they say that the world was built for two**

Zari is winning big time.

 

The health bar is looking good and she’s finally going to get past this phase, after a week of watching the screen fade to black and the words  _ game-over  _ blink back mockingly at her.

 

_ Finally, take that motherfuck–  _

 

“Budge up,” a voice says from above, and Zari refuses to look away from her video-game. Charlie can wait for a few couples of seconds, just until Zari can finish– 

 

A weight settles heavily on her lap, and the bed frame creaks under the sudden weight. She ducks, raising the controllers and fine, she’s almost there, she’s just got to– 

 

Charlie sighs, loud and overdramatic, like everything  _ Charlie  _ always is, but there’s something in her voice that catches Zari’s attention, tugs at her mind, so when Charlie sighs again, Zari is already pausing her game. “Okay. What’s up with you?”

 

“Sara’s decided I need proper ‘combat training’,” she grimaces, rolling her shoulders with a groan. There is a bruise blooming on her cheekbone, just under her left eye, and Zari brushes a finger softly around it, kinda wishing her amulet could do something about it. “She’s been kicking my ass all afternoon.”

 

“Did she go all drill sergeant on you?” Zari chuckles, putting her controller aside and turning off the TV. She’ll win that later. “She does that sometimes to new team members.”

 

“Attempted murder is what she did,” Charlie mutters, her eyes fluttering closed, “swear to god, she’s snapped. She’s snapped and she’s trying to kill me, one dislocated limb at a time.”

 

“Your shoulder is not dislocated, you big baby,” Zari pokes her ribs. Charlie squirms. She pokes again. Charlie opens her eyes, throwing her a warning look. Zari grins. “Okay, turn around.”

 

“What, why?”

 

“Because I’m the world’s nicest girlfriend. Just trust me.”

 

Charlie sighs but rolls over, head pillowed in Zari’s thigh, and Zari absolutely does not make a giddy victory dance on the inside over the easy way Charlie blindingly trust her judgment. “Did you make me turn around so you can stare at my arse?”

 

“It is a very nice butt,” Zari agrees truthfully and with no regrets, “but nah. Now, just relax, okay?”

 

She makes a non-committal noise that quickly turns into a moan when Zari begins massaging her shoulders, painfully knotted with tension, and Zari feels a pang of sympathy for her. If Sara’s gotten in her head that Charlie needs to learn proper hand-to-hand, then she can imagine how that would translate in League-of-Assassins style. “Better?”

 

Charlie hums contentedly, nuzzling and shifting to get more comfortable on her lap, “marry me?”

 

Zari can’t help the stubbornly familiar butterflies fluttering all the way from her gut to her throat. “Ask me again when you’re not half-drunk with exhaustion, ‘kay.” Shaking her head to try and not overthink it, she muses, “hey, I think Ava brought Gary along for dinner today. Do you think we can trick him into bringing us beers?”

 

_ “Marry me.” _

  
  



	7. Charlie/Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Doing a chore for them that you know they aren’t fond of.**
> 
> .

**heaven is a place on earth with you ( part 1 )**

 

“You know, love,” Constantine makes a broad gesture with his drink, the Whiskey sloshing on his glass dangerously close to spilling, and Sara would kill them both if he spills alcohol all over Nate’s precious dusty old books. “I think you’ve got yourself a decent shot.”

 

She scoffs, knocking back the rest of her whiskey. “Right. She  _ hates  _ me,” Charlie thinks back on the moment in the hallway, the way Zari smiled with what looked a lot like fondness in her eyes, even through her exasperation. “She might think I’m hot, I’ll give you that. But she still hates me, mate.”

 

“Zari doesn’t  _ hate  _ you,” he frowns, pouring them both another shot, “you two just got off on the wrong foot. First impressions and all that.”

 

“Isn’t that the one that lasts?”

 

“Doesn’t matter,” he waves her off, “what you need, my dear Charlie, is to win her over. Woo her.”

 

“Fuck off,” she scoffs again, trying to get up from her chair, but the room spins and spins and spins and– best to stay down, then. “You want me to what, seduce her? Like  _ that  _ would go over well. I can’t heal myself in jiff anymore, you know, thanks to your nasty bit of Latin,” Constantine has the decency to look chagrined, at the very least, so Charlie resists the urge to throw the rest of her drink on his face. That, and you know. The whole heartbreak thing. She might not have a face of her own, but she isn’t  _ soulless.  _ “So punch to the face, and black eye it is.”

 

“Not seduce her,  _ woo  _ her,” he says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and how come Charlie doesn’t follow his stupid line of thought? “There’s a difference. But then again, I suppose it depends on what  _ you  _ really want, love.”

 

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I? But fine, go on. What you mean?”

 

“It’s simple. If you just want in on her pants, then by all means, seducing is the way to go,  _ but,”  _ Constantine pauses, letting the suspense build up like the bloody drama queen he is, and smirking that infuriating smirk of his that says  _ I know several things you don’t.  _ “If you’re done for this time, then wooing her is your only answer.”

 

“Yeah, right, nice one, mate,” Charlie laughs, and the room spins some more, and it doesn’t sound very funny and this isn’t very fun anymore. “I’m not really the wooing type. It’s all the leather, I think.”

 

There’s a long space of silence, but when she finally brings herself to turn her head, Constantine is staring at his glass like it might wake up and whisper all the secrets of the Universe. “Word from the– well, not wise, but from someone who’s got his heart ripped out from his chest and damned to Hell, don’t waste too much time, Charlie, the clock keeps ticking, even in a bloody time machine.”

 

*

 

Charlie is on a mission.

 

Or not, she’s not sure yet. But she might be. She’s most probably is.

 

She is on a very important mission, one that involves avoiding Constantine’s knowing looks every time she trails after Zari like a goddamn lost puppy and Zari looks at her funny because Charlie has no idea what  _ wooing  _ even means. What kinda garbage advice is that, anyway? And why is Charlie even following it, anyway?

 

Oh, right, because Charlie’s really fucked this time. 

 

Because Charlie has some bloody butterflies fluttering on her stomach whenever Zari is around that she just can’t quite digest. Because  _ Charlie  _ is itching under her borrowed skin to press Zari against the nearby flat surface and– 

 

And Charlie hates everything about it.

 

Mostly because this is not something she can drink away. Trust her, she tried.

 

Repeatedly.

 

She even got the hangovers to prove it.

 

And the alcohol-drenched dreams where Zari looks at her and sees Charlie and not Amaya or a faceless monster, and kisses Charlie until her lungs ache with flowers.

 

_ God,  _ she already misses her liquor.

 

The bright yellow gloves she’s wearing is doing nothing to stop the dirty water from getting all over her hands and arms, there are too many holes and scratches on the rubber for it to ever work again, but for some ungodly reason, no one asks Gideon to replicate a new one and Charlie is  _ not  _ going to be the first one to crack.

 

A spoon gets in the water spray, splashing soap bubbles and oily water on her shirt, obviously, because this is what Charlie gets for trying to do something nice. No good deed goes unpunished. “Bollocks,” she grimaces, feeling the cotton slowly soaking the dirty water. There won’t be enough hot water to make her feel clean ever again. “Those time wankers couldn’t make one bloody dishwater in the entire ship?”

 

“I know right,” a voice rings from the kitchen’s doorway and Charlie’s butterflies flutter up a hurricane somewhere in her guts. Zari steps inside, cautiously sidestepping the bubbly puddle growing near Charlie’s feet, and her nose scrunches up in an unfairly adorable way. “Would it have killed them to make our life just this one tiny bit easier? I mean, we do kinda keep saving time, you would think we would have earned dishwater-rights by now.” 

 

Charlie snorts, shoving anything soft and light and warm swimming on her chest in a bottle full of lighter fluid and seals it with a rag to set on fire later and throw on enemy’s land. She hopes it burns down wherever field these goddamn butterflies are frolicking in. It leaves only bare bones and hollow caves, as it should be. She’s a shapeshifter, always will be, no matter what spell Constantine fires at her, and it’s no good to get attached to any skin. “When have those time cops made your life any easier?”

 

Zari laughs like she actually thinks Charlie’s funny, and her eyes crinkle with a smile. “You’re not wrong, but since we’re talking about time machines,” she raises one eyebrow, eyeing the sink half clean already with suspicion, “imagine my surprise when Gideon alerted me you were valiantly fighting a losing a battle against the dishes. And not only because you never do the dishes, even after we added you and John to the chart,” Charlie is about to protest saying Ray always beats her to it like it physically hurts him to see used plates piling up for anything longer than eight hours, but Zari shushes her before she can get a word in, _“but_ also because today is my turn in the kitchen.”

 

Silence stretches, with only the occasional  _ clink  _ of water drops hitting the sink, and Charlie fidgets, looking for an excuse that wouldn’t hand Zari her heart on a silver plate with a cherry on top. 

 

“I thought you hated doing the dishes,” Zari says, and now her voice is a soft sound that floats above the water, “I can’t figure out why you’re doing this. Is it about what happened in the jump ship? Because I told you already, we all been there, done that. You’re not officially a legend until you accidentally break time for a shitty reason.”

 

See, that right there is a great excuse, the perfect way out. But what comes out of Charlie’s mouth is: “you hate them more.”

 

“What?”

 

Well, since she’s knee deep in this shit already– when you’re going through hell and all that, right? “What? I have eyes. And ears! And I quite like my peace, thank you very much. My room is right next to yours, I didn’t want to hear you sulking around whining about Mick being gross again.” She shrugs, “figured I could finish this up while you were holed up in that nerdy lab of yours, be gone before anyone noticed.”

 

“God forbid anyone sees you doing something nice, right?” Zari smiles, not quite a smirk yet. “What would they say? The scandal, the horror.”

 

“Of course, I have a reputation,” Charlie grins back, gravitating closer, “can’t have people running around thinking I’m their fairy godmother.”

 

“Damn, don’t even joke about that. But don’t worry, if anyone asks, I’ll tell them Ray did it. They’ll just assume that anyway.” Zari pauses, humor seeping quickly out of her face, a more serious shadow falling over it. “For real, though. Thank you, Charlie.” 

 

There’s still half of a sink of dirty dishes waiting to be washed, but Charlie is quite sure she would’ve washed a mountain chain of them if it meant Zari would keep looking at her like that.

 

“Wait, you’ve got something on your cheek– no, you’re making it worse, hang on–” Zari huffs, stepping closer and Charlie’s back hits the sink, but Zari’s reaching and her thumb gently brushes across Charlie’s cheek, wiping a smudge of soap and setting her skin on fire in her trail. “There. Sorry, your gloves, you know. But uh, you’re good now.”

 

Jesus Christ. Charlie’s not gonna survive the holidays on this ship.

 

And Zari is looking a little red in the face, hopefully so, even as she steps back and picks up a dish rag with suspiciously unsteady fingers. “How about this,” she proposes, her voice all business again, wrapped with mischief, “you wash, I dry?”

 

Charlie looks at the glint on Zari’s eyes, the way she’s still closer than necessary, how she’s sure their shoulders will brush once they turn back to the sink, and really, is that even a question? “Sounds good to me, darling.” She laughs at the look Zari levels her, “especially because I’ve got no idea where anything goes.”

 

Zari snorts and shakes her head, but Charlie could swear she’s still smiling in that way that’s got Charlie truly fucked, so maybe, there’s an itsy-bitsy chance Charlie’s not so bad on this wooing business after all.

  
  
  
  



	8. Charlie/Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Buying them something unrequested because it made you think of them**
> 
> .

**heaven is a place on earth with you ( part 2 )**

  
  


Charlie hates New York. It’s a British thing, she thinks, but then again, it could be a common sense thing. Everyone here is rude, always in a hurry and always scowling like life threw a bunch of particular bitter lemons at their heads and they spent all morning chewing them out of spite.

 

No, no. Not spite. Spite she could respect, _this,_ this is just pathetic.

 

“Oh, oh, look!” Ray shakes her arm excitedly, causing her to stumble and scowl like a true New Yorker. “Charlie,  _ look!” _

 

Without any other choice, Charlie looks. The store Ray is gesturing towards like a crazy person is a small, ugly thing with grey walls and chipped paint and a shady sign, and the dusty window showcases a number of video games and consoles. 

 

She’s pretty sure it’s all stolen goods.

 

“We are  _ time _ coppers, Ray,” she tells him, slipping her arm out of his grasp and clapping his shoulder, “not real ones.”

 

He frowns pitifully, looking confusedly between her and the store. “What? I don’t– nevermind.  _ Look,”  _ Ray grins again so bright, she thinks it might be illegal in gloomy Manhattan. “It’s that game Zari was talking about yesterday, remember? In her time, it’s considered super rare.”

 

Yeah, Charlie remembers alright. 

 

It would be impossible not to. Zari had been talking about it over dinner, and Charlie had been somewhere between beer number one and beer number three, and the artificial lights of the ship had made Zari’s eyes turn melted-chocolate brown so beautiful, she had forgotten how to breathe for a full whole minute. 

 

Still, Ray doesn’t have to know that. “Yeah? Good for her,” Charlie shoulders past him, marching away from the shady store and the stupid video-game that’s making her think of Zari’s stupid pretty eyes and her stupid pretty face and her stupid pretty  _ everything.  _ She’s only three steps away when she realizes Ray isn’t following her. “Well? Are you coming or what?”

 

“You don’t want to buy it for her?” He suggests, waggling his eyebrows. “Hm? I’m sure she would appreciate that more than flowers!”

 

“What?”

 

“Well, it’s just that Constantine said you were trying to woo her so I thought–”

 

Charlie is going to kill John Constantine and not even all the magic in the whole goddamn world are going to save him.

 

But, here’s the one silver lining about New York and its apathetic citizens: no one bats an eyelash when she drags Ray by the collar of his shirt into an empty alley and throws him against the brick wall with a knife pressed to his throat. “Did you tell anyone about this?”

 

Ray swallows, wincing when the moment makes his Adam’s apple graze the sharp end of the knife. “No one,” he wheezes, “I swear I didn’t tell anyone!”

 

“Who else knows?”

 

“Nobody,” Charlie presses the tip against his throat in warning and he amends, “okay, Constantine, and– I don’t know, whoever else he told, I don’t know, I swear I don’t know!”

 

“Don’t lie to me, mate.”

 

“I’m not lying! I don’t lie– you know I hate lying, I’m terrible at it, really–”

 

With a sigh, Charlie lets him go, slipping the knife back into her boot. It’s no use to shoot the messenger, she supposes. It is fun, though. But Sara would get mad at her if she roughs Ray up. And Zari would give her the  _ disappointed, but not surprised  _ look, which never fails to make her feel queasy later. “If you tell anyone…” she trails off, giving him a meaningful look.

 

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” Ray nods, and  _ damn,  _ how can he bounce off a death threat so quick? “But for the record, I really think you should tell her.”

 

“Yeah? Don’t remember asking,” Charlie looks him over, smoothing down a few wrinkles on his shirt, then pats him once on the chest, “there you go, good as new. Now hop along, we’ve got a nasty troll to find and the little bugger won’t cuff himself.”

 

Charlie leads the way, and Ray follows, and if she only glances back at the store once, it should probably count as a small victory.

 

*

 

Zari is daydreaming with her bed.

 

Seriously, she’s covered in troll goo and it’s so,  _ so  _ gross and it stinks so,  _ so  _ much, all she wants to do is take a shower or two hundred, and then sleep for an entire week.

 

God, why do trolls have to be so gross?

 

The door closes behind her with a hiss, and in her tired state, it’s the most beautiful sound in the world. Zari sighs contently, throwing her soaked jacket straight into the trash and makes a mental note to tell Gideon to burn it later.

 

She’s halfway ready to hop in the shower when she notices a small package on her bed. Picking it up, she shakes it gently, smiling at the cartoonish cats dotting the wrapping paper, and unsticks the neat red bow on top. 

 

And almost drops the whole thing on the floor.

 

“Oh my god,” she tells the empty room,  _ “oh my god.” _

 

Rushing outside, Zari looks around, not surprised to find the hallway deserted. Whoever left it here, it’s long gone by now. Still, she stands there, in the middle of the hall, and  _ grins.  _ “Hey, Gideon?”

 

“Yes, Ms. Tomaz?”

 

“You wouldn’t know who left this very rare, very expensive video-game in my room, would you?”

 

“I’m afraid I have been told not to divulge this information.”

 

“Yeah, I figured. Well, thank her for me, okay?”

 

“Of course, Ms. Tomaz.”

 

Well, it looks like she’s gotta do some Christmas shopping soon.

  
  
  
  


 


	9. Charlie/Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Letting them warm their cold hands under your shirt.**
> 
> .

**baby, it's too cold outside**

Zari is pretty sure this is the worst day of her life, and that’s saying something, okay? She fought time demons, murderous unicorns, a fairy godmother, an evil government agency, her family was– okay, yeah, maybe not  _ worst  _ day, but it’s pretty high up on the list.

Because, you see, like literally every other sane person in the world she’s not a big fan of being stranded in the middle of Moscow at two in the morning. Especially when the only other person with her is the world’s most annoying being, who is, by the way, absolutely not giving any fucks about the freezing cold. Oh no, Charlie is positively  _ beaming.  _ “Come on, cheer up, love,” the world’s soon-to-be-dead biggest pain in the ass says,  _ grinning,  _ right up in Zari’s face, because personal space who, right? “It’s not so bad, it’s  _ snowing.” _

“Yes,” Zari agrees, smiling with as much sarcasm as she can possibly muster, “I’m wildly aware, trust me. You know why? Because I can’t feel  _ my fingers.” _

“Right. Humans are flimsy little things, I forget,” she laughs, but she also shifts a little to the side, and now her back is against the wind, shielding Zari from freezing her face off, so. There’s that. “Come on. It’s snowing, you can’t be a grumpy-cat in the snow!” Then, her smile turns just this side of mischievous and Zari knows she’s in for a ride. “Do you wanna build a snowman?”

Oh hell no. Not this song. Who the hell showed Charlie Disney movies? She bets it was Ray. Yes, this has  _ Ray Palmer  _ written all over it. “Please,  _ please,  _ don’t start.”

“It doesn’t have to be a snowman,” Charlie sing songs, still with that god awful grin on her face that absolutely does not make Zari want to do things like kiss it off her lips. And her American accent is also bad. Terrible. “Come on, let’s go and play!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it goes,” Zari crosses her arms over her chest, refusing to laugh. It must still bleed through, though, if the way Charlie’s smile widens adorably all the way up to her eyes. “You’re mixing the lyrics.”

Charlie gasps dramatically, clutching one hand to her chest, “oh my, is that– is that a  _ smile  _ I see?” She steps closer still, and Zari could count her eyelashes from here, “it’s just you and me, what are we gonna do?”

“That’s,” her voice comes out strained, breaking at the vowels, so Zari clears her throat and possibly drops her dignity in the process. “You jumped over  _ a lot  _ of lyrics there.”

“Yeah, I’m beginning to think you’ve got a point, love,” Charlie says, but something on her voice doesn’t seem right. It’s too soft, too gentle, too  _ something.  _ And when she looks at Zari, her eyes, too, are full of  _ something.  _ “Are you still cold, Zee?”

“Yeah,” Zari breathes, mouth dry and hyperaware of every inch of space between them. Or, rather, the dangerous lack of them. “Why?”

“You know, shapeshifting usually takes a lot of energy, yeah? So, naturally, us shapeshifters always run a little hotter. ‘S why I’m not clattering my teeth right now,” Charlie shrugs, but Zari could swear she sounds a bit out of breath. “Come ‘ere, see for yourself.”

She zips down her coat and opens her arms, and Zari is forced to look at her. Zari looks and sees Charlie, looking so much like Amaya, but also not at all. There’s something so undeniably  _ Charlie  _ about her that’s impossible to mistake. And under the streetlight in the middle of Moscow’s night sky, with snow blanketing everything for miles, Zari is pretty sure this is what poets write sonnets about.

And since Zari  _ is  _ cold and Charlie  _ is  _ offering, she closes the gap between them and sinks into Charlie’s arms, her hands sneaking under her shirt, warm skin under her fingertips. Charlie shivers, a full body ripple that echoes in the hollow of Zari’s bones. “Damn, you were really cold, uh?” Now, with their chests rising and falling in tandem, the catch on her breath is glaring like a white rabbit in a snowstorm. Unmistakably there, but impossible to pinpoint. 

“Guess so,” Zari closes her eyes, letting her warmth lull her into a drowsy state, “thanks, Charlie.”

“You know how you could repay me, love?” Zari hums for her to go on. “Let’s hijack the jump ship. Go anywhere you want.”

“You are a terrible influence. But it’s a date.”

****  
  



	10. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: there’s a really good 2-for-1 deal on this fancy restaurant I’ve always wanted to go to on Valentine's day, so will you go with me?**
> 
> .

 

**start the car, I know a whoopee spot**

 

“Hey, Brainy?” Kara knocks on the lab door, fidgeting in the hallway. She smooths her skirt, tugs at the hem of her sweatshirt, waiting for him to look up from the microscope. “Can I talk with you for a sec?”

 

He blinks, eyebrows skittering at the edge of a frown, and  _ oh, right.  _ Kara Danvers being at the DEO isn’t a usual occurrence. “Yes, of course,” the microscope is pushed away, “is everything alright?”

 

“No, no, no, everything’s fine, don’t worry,” she grins excitedly, stepping inside and dropping down in the stool beside him. It spins from side to side, and Kara makes a point of enjoying the small things in life. “So, what I wanted to talk about is the greatest idea ever.”

 

Now, the eyebrows go all the way up. “Is this one of those ill-advised schemes your sister warned me about?”

 

The stool screeches to a stop. “What?  _ No!”  _  How could Alex betray her like this? When has she ever gotten them in trouble? “Look, there’s this restaurant downtown– super fancy, super expensive, too. But! But, it’s  _ the  _ best place in National City.”

 

“It does sound good,” Brainy agrees, but Kara can practically see the interrogation point floating above his head, “you should make reservations.”

 

“About that,” Kara gives him her best puppy eyes, “I may have done that already?”

 

“That is… good?”

 

“But here’s the thing, it’s a couple’s reservation,” she hurries to explain, “because, you see, they have this Valentine’s Day 2-for-1 deal, and it’s for couples only, but I  _ really  _ wanted to go.”

 

Brainy frowns as she speaks, but by the end of her excited babbling, it’s gone, replaced by dawning understanding. “And you wish for  _ me _ to accompany you?”

 

“Yes!” Kara bites her lip to contain her giddy relief, “will you? Please? If we split the bill, it’s not gonna be so expensive, and it’s like, the best restaurant in town, I’m sure you’d love it there, too!”

 

“As your,” he trails off for a bit,  _ “date?” _

 

“Oh.  _ Oh.  _ I mean, yes? We’ll have to pretend to be dating to get the deal, so,” now  _ she  _ trails off for a bit, looking for the right words. “We’ll probably just have to hold hands a little. It’s a super fancy place, so they won’t expect much PDA, and we can just say I’m shy.”

 

“Pretend, of course, yes.” He pauses, head tilting as he thinks it over, and Kara waits with bated breath. “You  _ are  _ aware I’m not yet entirely sure on how to behave in social interactions, right?”

 

“Oh, no, that’s fine,  _ you _ ’re fine,” Kara hesitates, hand hovering for the tenth of a second before she touches his arm comfortingly. She isn’t exactly sure why it feels weird in her chest all of a sudden, or why her hand is tingling all the way down to her fingertips. “Just, you don’t have to, if you’re not comfortable with it. But I’m really hoping you’ll say yes?”

 

He clears his throat, smiles. “Well,” Brainy says, “at what time should I stop by your apartment, then?”

 

Kara grins, bright and happy, and the strange fluttering comes back with overwhelming force,  but she doesn’t think she minds it.

 

No, she doesn’t think she minds it at all.


	11. Charlie/Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Rubbing the back of their hand with a thumb.**

**I can twist it into sugar, butter covered pieces**   
  


“Didn’t take you for a baker,” Charlie comments idly from the doorway. The kitchen is somewhat less of a mess than one would expect from Zari’s cooking marathon; flour is only covering the counter and half the floor, and sugar is a white tower growing against the foot of the table as it slowly pours from the fallen bag at the edge.

 

“ _ Stress  _ baking,” Zari calls without looking up from her forcefully mixing the batter. It smells faintly of cinnamon, and Charlie thinks it might be gingerbread cookies in the making, but she wouldn’t know. She’s never been one for celebrating holidays and Hell isn’t exactly known for its Christmas spirit. “I’m not Christian, but these things  _ are  _ pretty good.  _ And  _ Ray may or may not have kicked me from the lab.”

 

“Stress for what?” Her boots leave footprints on the white-covered floor, and for one moment Charlie entertains the idea of snow angels. “We haven’t seen a supernatural creature in weeks, no surprise visits from the time suits, no time demons– this is quite literally the closest to peace we’ve ever been.”

 

Zari pauses on her attempts to murder the cookie mix, carefully resting the bowl on the table and causing a cascade of sugar to rain on the leaning sugar tower. There’s flour on her cheek, but it’s the deep frown and the caged look on her eyes that catch Charlie’s attention. She knows that look, she’s seen it in hundreds of different eyes staring back at her in the mirror. “I know,” Zari sighs, dropping down in one of the chairs, “it’s just… I don’t trust the quiet. In my experience, it’s only ever the calm before the storm.”

 

Charlie nods. She’s not exactly familiar with  _ peace  _ either. “And the longer it lasts…”

 

“The bigger the storm,” Zari finishes, resuming her baking with a little less homicidal energy. “It’s stupid, I know. And paranoid,” she shrugs, rescuing the bag of sugar and pouring a cup on the bowl, “but it’s how I survived Argo.”

 

“I hear you,” Charlie sits beside her, picking up a few chocolate chips on her way and popping them in her mouth like Skittles, “you’ve been through a lot, couldn’t afford peace. It’s normal to be nervous now, I think. New experiences and all that, right?”

 

There’s a moment of silence, the sound of the spoon clinking against the bowl too loud for the shrinking space left between them. Finally, Zari sighs again, and it sounds a little less like glass shattering. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know how to trust this.”

 

“Then don’t. Trying to is clearly giving you an ulcer, or possibly diabetes after these cookies are done,” Charlie says, taking the bowl from her hands as gently as she can, “preparing for the worst kept you alive– don’t ever apologize for that, love.” She watches Zari swallow, eyes bright in the artificial light, and covers Zari’s hands with her own, thumb rubbing soft circles on the back of her hand. “Either way, you can breath now, Zee. I–  _ we  _ won’t let anything happen to you. Besides the odd cat transfiguration, of course. But that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

 

It startles a laugh out of her, and Charlie counts it as a whole win. “Thank you,” Zari turns her hand, entwining their fingers, “but if you ever get me turned into a cat again, I’ll scratch you.”

 

Laughter lingers in the kitchen long after the cookies are done.


	12. Charlie/Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: You’re pissed off at me and start yelling in frustration but I think you just said “I didn’t plan to fall in love with you” and I really need you to rewind**  
> .

**you and** me **are the difference between real love and the love on TV**

 

Zari has never been more stressed in her entire life. And that’s saying something, her life has been nothing if not stressful _._

 

But no, going undercover in the freaking suburbs of LA, pretending to be newlyweds with _Charlie_ really takes the cake.

 

Especially because Charlie doesn’t know how to follow a plan.

 

And it was such a simple plan, _come on._

 

She can’t believe she’s saying this, but she really should have listened to Ray.

 

 _Please, tell me you’re not doing this,_ he had said, sounding weirdly serious and weirdly intense, _tell me you’re not going to pretend to be married to someone you’re in love with._

 

At the time Zari had scoffed and pushed past him, because people were dying and not even snob, rich, white-picket-fence people deserve to die under whacky curses, and if the price for stopping this crazy witch was a little heartache, then so be it.

 

Now, she’s pretty ready to strangle Charlie. “What the hell was that?” she hisses, pulling the curtains closed and going to check the rooms for any suspicious activity. But because she’s still pissed, she calls back, “we had a _plan,_ I told you to leave the talking to me!”

 

Charlie is sprawled on their couch, playing with their fake wedding ring. She rolls it between her fingers, eyes tracking its movement. “You did, love. But that was becoming boring real fast,” she flashes Zari a grin, “not saying that _you_ are boring, of course. It’s just the ‘burbs that are a drag.”

 

Zari huffs, shoving any sort of amusement and affection and goddamn flutterings out of the way. She is mad and she is annoyed. Those are safe things to feel around Charlie. “Well, that’s too bad. We have a plan for a reason,” she stops in front of her, frowning, “what if that was the witch? She could have cursed you! You _know_ people are getting suspicious, someone already broke into Sara and Ray’s place!”

 

“Will you relax? It turned out fine, didn’t it?” Charlie waves her off, the gold band disappearing from sight. “I mean, having dinner with the Smiths does sound like torture, so sorry for that.”

 

“I can’t believe this,” Zari pinches the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and counting to ten in her head. As it turns out, someone doesn’t stop being frustratingly annoying if you fall in love with them. “I need you to understand that people are _dying._ You could’ve _died._ Do you get that? You could have been cursed and I don’t know, dancing to death right now. That’s why. We. Have. _A plan.”_

 

“I say fuck the plan,” Charlie sits up, elbows on her knees, and looking like Zari finally got under her skin. “It’s bonkers! We’ll be two old hags yelling at kids to get off our lawn before we find this witch! I don’t know about you, but I’m not suburbs material. So, _fuck the plan!”_

 

And _that_ makes Zari’s blood sail past boiling point. “You think I like this? Playing house and having tea parties and ignoring the judgy looks of the entire neighborhood? I have some news for you, then. _I hate it,”_ Zari hears her own voice rising, echoing in the barely-furnitured living room. If they are really staying here for much longer, they’ll need to ask Gideon to play IKEA for them soon. Somehow, this thought just fans the flame. “I hate this plan, and I think Sara should have let Constantine do his thing, earthquake risks or not, and I hate that _nothing_ is going along to our shitty plan, and most of all I hate that Ray was right and I should have listened to him, because guess what, I didn’t _plan_ to fall in love with you! I swear to god, all I need is for one thing, just _one thing_ to go according to plan. Is that too much to ask, because I really don’t think it is–”

 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Charlie cuts her off, scrambling off the couch. She is looking at Zari with wide eyes and shock written all over face. “Hold on a sec, there. Let’s, let’s rewind a bit, yeah? Did you just say you were in love with me?”

 

Zari’s brain unplugs itself from the mainframe. “What.”

 

“You _did,_ didn’t you?” A slow, Cheshire grin appears on her lips, and Charlie is still getting closer, closer, _closer,_ and Zari is sure she can hear her heartbeat speeding up off the charts, “now _that’s_ not boring at all.”

 

“No, I did not say that, what, you’re hearing things, is what’s happening. Are we sure you weren’t cursed after all?” Zari tries to step back, but her ankles hit their ridiculously short table, and she feels herself losing balance– and she really, _really_ hopes she hits her head on her way down– but Charlie is faster, grabbing her waist to hold her in place. “Oh,” she breathes, and she’s sure Charlie’s hands are going to leave perfectly lined burn marks on her skin, even through her clothes.

 

“Hey now, Zee. No take backsies,” Charlie smiles, and it’s the prettiest thing Zari’s ever seen. It makes all her lines of thought into a tangle of wires. “Especially because, see, I’m terribly in love with you too.”

 

Zari thinks her heart is going to burst out of her chest, break her ribcage open, and fall out at their feet. Finish handing itself over to Charlie. It’s already hers anyway.

 

But then Charlie kisses her, and Zari thinks nothing at all.


	13. Winn Schott/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: "you deserve so much more than the world has given you and when I tell you that, you kiss me"**  
> .

 

**tell me that you love me, even if it's fake**

 

“I don’t understand,” Brainy says once the other agents leave, and Winn flips them off behind their back because no one should make Brainy frown like that. And also because they are all around dicks, but, you know. It’s the sentiment that matters. “Why did you help me? I could have handled that on my own, and besides it would not be the first time people insult me.”

 

Winn still has his arm around Brainy’s shoulder, and he thinks he should be working on taking it back, but Brainy’s not complaining yet, his own arm still wrapped around Winn’s waist, so. Maybe in a couple of minutes. “Dude, first of all, Carlson and Griffin are the biggest assholes in here, okay, I’ll take any chance to mess with them,” he laughs, remembering their faces when he told them Brainy and him were dating. Oh man, he hopes the cameras caught that, it would be  _ awesome  _ blackmail material. “Second of all, and most importantly, because they were being assholes to  _ you.  _ I know you could’ve kicked their asses, I’ve seen you fight before, but wasn’t that so much funnier?”

 

Brainy tilts his head, considering the point. “It was admittedly very entertaining.” He turns to look at Winn but doesn’t step back or take his arm away, so Winn lets his hand rest on Brainy’s shoulder and  _ shit  _ it would be so easy to pull him by his jacket into a kiss–  _ no.  _ Bad Winn. Stay focused. Conversations are happening, words are being talked. “... should thank you. Although not needed, your assistance is appreciated.”

 

“Anytime man,” Winn says,  _ really  _ hoping the reason his face feels so warm is not a blush. Hey, global warming is a real thing, it’s getting really bad, right? “I just don’t know how you can stay so cool there.”

 

“I am not unused to these so-called bullies,” he shrugs like it’s no biggie. Like that’s not a very big deal, in fact. “I learned a long time ago it is not worth it to answer in kind.”

 

Not for the first time, Winn wishes he wasn’t so pathetically awkward. If he were a normal, chill, person, he would know what to say to make Brainy feel better without it sounding like pity, because he of all people know pity is the last thing anyone wants.

 

And this isn’t pity. Winn learned a lot of things during his time in the 31st century. Things about Brainy and his family and his life, really, because knowing your enemy is the least you should do before going to battle. He researched Brainiac exhaustively trying to find a way to beat him, it was impossible not to stumble into Brainy’s history. And Indigo’s but that’s one particular nightmare he’d rather not think about now. 

 

The point is, it isn’t pity. It’s more…  _ indignation.  _ The whole life’s-not-fair deal. He knows how it feels to have your family used against you, to want to atone for mistakes that aren’t even yours but you still feel responsible. He gets that, honestly. And Brainy doesn’t deserve that. 

 

“I’m sorry my coming back brought that up,” Winn tells him instead, “I don’t know how word got out about Brainiac, someone must have eavesdropped when I was debriefing with Alex or, I don’t know–”

 

“It’s alright, Winn,” Brainy cuts him off with a small smile, “I don’t blame you. It was bound to happen and it’s for the better that it was sooner rather than later.”

 

“Yeah, I guess. But they were still assholes. You don’t deserve that shit,” Winn says, and he’s skirting dangerous territory here. It’s too close to what he’s trying not to say, one wrong word and his heart could fall right out of his sleeve. “Actually, you deserve so much more than the world has given you, I–”  _ I’d give you the world if you asked.  _ He trails off instead.

 

Brainy stares at him, an unreadable look on his eyes, and Winn wants to ask what’s up with that, but– 

 

– Brainy kisses him, and Winn forgets anything that isn’t Brainy and his lips moving against Winn’s, and hands on his waist pulling him closer, and the lightninig setting his blood on fire.

 

And if later he does pull Brainy into another kiss by the collar of his jacket, well, turns out he was right, it’s as easy as breathing.


	14. Charlie/ Zari Tomaz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Third and final part of _heaven is a place on earth with you_!**  
> .

**heaven is a place on earth with you ( part 3 )**

 

Charlie is on a warpath.

She is going to kill Constantine and his stupid theories. She is going to break his neck and it will be the most satisfying thing she’s ever done. Who the hell does he think he is to go around telling people Charlie is wooing anyone? Any sort of wooing on her part is none of the other legends’ business.

So yeah, murdering Constantine is the only way.

“You  _ bastard,”  _ she hisses, because a murder should never start with a shriek from the killer. Stealth is of the essence. “You absolute arsehole! You told  _ Ray?” _

“You sound stressed there, love,” the soon-to-be-dead comments, looking completely unbothered on his armchair. Charlie doesn’t know when the library became their official drinking room, but the perpetually half-full bottle of Scotch is still there, in someone’s hands, every time she passes by. “New York was not as nice as they make it out to be?”

“No, no, no,” Charlie steps inside, closing the doors behind her, “don’t you start with that crap. Ray told me you’ve been gossiping around the ship like two little girls.”

The bottle clinks when John sets it heavily on the table. “He’s not very good at keeping secrets, is he?”

“I’m going to kill you,” Charlie states matter-of-factly, diving for his throat, but because Constantine has been drinking harder liquors for longer than he’s been aware of the paranormal, he’s got no problem ducking out of the way, trenchcoat and all. 

“Before you do that,” he says, circling the table, putting it between them, and picking up the bottle. He takes a swing from it, grimacing as he swallows, then gestures towards the door with it, “I think you’ve got yourself a visitor.”

Against her better judgment, it’s reflex to whip her head around and look where he’s pointing and– 

_ Well shit. _

“Am I interrupting something?” Zari asks with an amused smile on her face and a fond look on her eyes. She steps aside to let Constantine through, eyebrows raised as he hastily exits the room.

He stops a few feet away, raising the bottle in salute, “Not at all, pet. I’ll let you two ladies talk, then, be on my way. Cheers!” And scurries away with the alcohol.

“I’d ask what that was all about,” Zari says, snorting, “but I’m sure he gives everyone at least ten reasons to punch him in the face before breakfast every day.”

“You’re not wrong,” Charlie knocks back Constantine’s forgotten glass, thankful as it burns down her throat. She’d like for a lot more than a glass, but beggars can’t be choosers and a little alcohol is better than stone cold sober; placebo effect is all she’s asking for. “But what brings you here? One of those ten reasons?”

Zari doesn’t sit down, choosing to stay standing near the door, and her hands twitch everytime the clock ticks another second or so. “No, I was looking for you, actually.”

“Oh. Here I am, then,” she gives her a sharp grin, bowing down with a flourish, “what can I do for you, love?”

“It’s more like what you already did,” Zari takes one step closer, stops. The amulet on her necklace glints in the light, catching the fluorescent white and reflecting off red. It suits her in a way no other jewel ever could, Charlie thinks. “I had an interesting chat with Ray this morning. About a mysterious game that appeared on my room a few days ago.”

“Oh, bollocks,” Charlie kicks one of the armchairs because even she knows she can’t kick Ray’s stupid face. And it gives her an excuse not to look directly at Zari; it’s not rejection if she never hears the words or sees the pity in her eyes, right? “He really can’t keep his bloody mouth shut.”

“Yeah, secrets are really not his thing,” she laughs, but it’s a quick, muted thing, sinking on the space between them, heavy and crackling with electricity. Charlie feels it tingling on the tip of her fingers, itching to reach for– something, everything.  _ Zari.  _ “Thank you, by the way. For the video game. And the dishes. And listening to my drunk stories. And convincing Mick not to leave beer bottles in the hallways.”

The Waverider is anchored on the timestream, away from any gravitational pull, but Charlie still feels as if the whole world is spinning and she’s holding on for dear life not to be thrown off into space. “It was cheap enough when I bought it. And probably stolen,” she shrugs, leaning back against the table. It helps ground her, remind her this is real, this is happening. God knows Hell played enough tricks to make her wary. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, alright? Just a  _ sorry I got you turned into a cat  _ gift.”

“Charlie,” Zari says her name and she makes it sounds real. She makes it sound like this body, this skin, this  _ life  _ can be Charlie’s; it sounds as if you were to strip Charlie down to whatever passes as her soul, this is what you’d find. It makes her feel _ real. _ “What are you so afraid of? Every time, you keep playing it down. I thought you were done running?”

“What? What do you want me to say, Zee?” Charlie snaps, feeling stretched thin over her bones, and lashing out when her back hits the wall is a muscle memory impossible to unlearn. “That you’ve been driving me crazy? That I can’t get you out of my head? That I’ve done the stupidest thing I’ve ever done and fell in love with you? Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it,” Zari doesn’t give her time to process anything, crossing the few feet between them in a flash of a second, and pressing their lips together. She kisses Charlie and Charlie can’t be dreaming right now, because her dreams never feel this good. 

Charlie’s living proof you don’t always only live once, no, she’s lived through dozens of lives all over the globe. Even so, if they’re really right when they say home is where your heart is, then Charlie would have to say Zari is the closest thing to it she’ll ever get. 


	15. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Hey 😊 Can you make a Karadox "Here, let me help you"? Thank you 😄**  
> .

**I'll be there for you ( when the rain starts to pour )**

 

Kara’s fine.

 

She’s not working for the DEO for the time being, but it’s fine. She kicked some butts and took some names with Barry and Oliver just a few days ago.  _It’s fine._

 

She’s done this without the DEO before and she can do it again. If anything,  _they_ are going to have a hard time doing things without her. 

 

It’s fine, she’s fine.

 

Exhibit number one: Kara’s  _cooking_ now. She never had the time to cook before, but here she is making soup. It’s definitely an upgrade. She’s here on her own apartment, cutting potatoes into tiny bits to throw on the pot. A normal, ordinary thing that just goes to show how fine all of this is.

 

Let’s be real, could a depressed person do this?

 

“You are slicing your sink,” Brainy points out from where he’s sitting at the table, voice carefully neutral.

 

“What? No, I’m not,” she’s not, okay. She can cut potatoes without destroying private property. Her private property. If her knife sticks a little to the cutting board, that’s just. That’s perfectly normal. “I’ve got this, don’t worry.”

 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asks for the third time that evening. It’s not that Kara doesn’t appreciate the concern, it’s just that it’s unnecessary. She’s fine.

 

“I’m fine,” she tells him, a bit of her frustration bleeding into her words, “really. I’m perfectly fine.”

 

Honestly, just because that Colonel Haley and the President of the United States backed her against a wall and demanded to know her real identity and then fired her when she refused to put everyone she ever loved in danger. And so what, if half the population is supporting a xenophobic egomaniac even after he was arrested for terrorism and said crazy psycho outsmarted her in live television when she  _specifically_ went on the talk show to sway opinions to the  _sane_ side of things. And if things are kind of spiraling down right now, and her hands seem to be tied that doesn’t mean– 

 

Her knife slices clean through the cutting board and embeds itself on her sink.

 

Hands are suddenly covering hers, and  _oh,_ she’d been shaking a little, and Kara lets Brainy pull her into a hug. He presses a kiss into her hair, and she exhales shakily. “Here,” he says after a while, guiding her to a chair, “let me help you?”

 

It’s a simple enough question, but it sounds very heavy, like maybe this is not just about soup and slicing vegetables. But it doesn’t matter, she nods, “yeah, yeah okay,” and means  _yes, yes to all of them._


	16. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Hello 😊 Can you please make a Karadox cute cuddle ear bite and neck kisses?**  
> .

**once upon a dream**

 

The air is cold in the late December weather, and Kara is still holding out hope for some snow this year. Winter seems to be here to stay, with clear skies and cold nights.

 

And cold nights mean turning in earlier, diving under blankets and bask in the warmth slowly surrounding her. Having Brainy beside her, a steady heartbeat under her palm and a comforting weight on the mattress, only crowns the season as her favorite. Especially in times like these, when their superhero-ing keeps them so busy, they can hardly see each other.

 

Waking up in the next morning, with soft sunlight streaming in stirring them both awake, and finding him still there, is not something she’s ever going to get tired of. Kara watches him blinking, face still peaceful and clear in a way he never is after they leave her apartment, smiles, “hey there, stranger,” and if her voice is hushed, barely above a whisper, well, quiet and peace are such breakable things.

 

Brainy smiles back, but his brow knit adorably and Kara ignores the overwhelming urge to reach and smooth it out. “Good morning,” he shuffles closer, arms tightening around her waist, “and you know me.”

 

“I know, it’s just an expression, it feels like I haven’t seen you in so long,” the words taste citric on her tongue, and she scrunches up her face. But the light bathing her room is weak and pale, giving everything a dreamlike quality, and it’s hard to feel any shade of sad. In fact, it’s hard not to feel in the edges of a fairytale. “I know you,” she quotes, “I walked with you once upon a dream.”

 

A victorious gleam flashes across his eyes. “I know that movie,” Brainy presses a kiss to her neck, and she feels his grin against her skin. “But I suppose we did meet in your dream.”

 

“You’re always in my dreams,” Kara shivers, hands closing over a fistful of his shirt and pulling him closer. A soft bite on her earlobe follows and her voice ends breathless. 

 

“And you are in mine,” Brainy tells her confidently, before leaning down for a kiss.

 

In a few hours, they both need to be at the DEO, waiting for the next crisis to stop, but for now, they’re content to stay in bed.


	17. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Hey! I'm late, but happy new year 🤗 Can you please make a Karadox "You love me as if I deserve you"? Oh, and I loved the last you did, thank you 😊**  
> .

**and I find the truth scary**

 

“You’ve been awfully quiet tonight,” Kara comments, turning the lights on and dropping her keys on the dish by the door. Brainy makes an inquisitive noise as he unzips his jacket, so she adds, “at the bar. And the walk back.”

 

“I suppose I had a lot in my mind,” he tells her distractedly, and Kara frowns, feeling her brow wrinkling with the familiar crinkle. Brainy smiles reassuringly, “but it’s nothing of concern.”

 

She stops in front of him, hands gently cradling his face, “except it obviously is,” she gives him a quick kiss, wraps her arms around his neck, “you have a tell too, you know. Come on, what’s going on?”

 

“I do not have a  _ tell,”  _ is the immediate retort, but Brainy predictably caves, amending, “there is nothing going on, I merely had what one might call an epiphany earlier today.”

 

In her experience, an epiphany might be an exceptionally good thing or an exceptionally bad one, few things fall on middle ground these days. Her crinkle clearly agrees with her. “Tell me about it anyway. It might make you feel better?”

 

Brainy looks conflicted for a second, his hands spasm where they’re resting on her waist, before he sighs. Kara shuffles closer. “You love me as if I deserved you,” he says, and the bewilderment on his eyes is so, so very real, Kara's heart shatters. “All of you here do. I have been coming up empty on the reason why.”

 

“ _ Brainy,”   _ she breathes, racking her brain for something to say,  _ anything,  _ that could possibly change his mind. “How can you– where is this coming from?”

 

“I’m aware I’m not an easy person to be around, and even further,” he avoids her eyes, looking instead at somewhere behind her head, “my ancestor and namesake,  _ Brainiac,  _ was a monster and my people’s greatest shame. After him, generations of my family turned evil as well. It’s not surprising that everyone on my planet expects me to follow in his footsteps eventually– a matter of  _ when _ , not  _ if. _ ”

 

There are not many times Kara feels the urge to punch people in the face. Well, supervillains and criminals aside. But right now, her fists are itching with the urge to punch an entire planet in their collective stupid faces.  _ How could them?  _ She pulls him into a hug, “ _ screw them, _ ” she whispers into his hair, pleased when her voice comes out as determined as she feels. “For a bunch of smart people, they could not be more wrong.” Kara aches with the thought, “Brainy, everyone deserves to be loved, but you  _ have  _ to know– there’s absolutely  _ no way _ you could ever be anything other than a _ hero.  _ You’re kind, you’re brave and you’re such a good person. One of the best I know. I could stand here all night listing off all the reason I love you and it wouldn’t be long enough.”

 

He is looking at her now with so much wonder, Kara kisses him as gently as she can, hoping to show him this is the truth, the undeniable truth, and nothing will ever change. “I love you, I love you,  _ I love you,”  _ she repeats against his lips, and vows to herself not to let him forget it. Love is not about deserving, but she’ll spend as long as it takes to convince him there’s no one more deserving of this than him.


	18. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Happy new year!!! Karadox "You're making me blush!", please? ☺**  
> .

**sweet nothings**

 

They’re walking back to Kara’s apartment.

 

It’s a nice night– one of those nights where the air is cold, but not painfully so, the sky is full of stars, but not frighteningly so, the streets are crowded, but not uncomfortably so.

 

All things are as they should be, and Kara is  _ content. _

 

She’s walking down the street with her boyfriend and they are holding hands and she is happy. For once, the world doesn’t feel the need to end.

 

“We should stop by that ice cream place,” Brainy suggests, startling Kara out of her thoughts. Which is a good thing, since her thoughts had involved a whole lot of  _ Singing in the Rain _ dance numbers and the synapses between  _ thinking  _ and  _ acting  _ are dangerously close. “It should still be open.”

 

“But you don’t like ice cream,” Kara frowns, ignoring the excited  _ whoop  _ her stomach does at the idea of chocolate milk-shakes, “you said, and I quote,  _ it’s too sweet.” _

 

“It _ is _ too sweet,” he shrugs, tugging at her hand so they turn left to go to the ice cream parlor, “but  _ you  _ like them, don’t you?”

 

“Well, yeah,” she scoffs, thinking back at the cartons in her fridge. It’s still early, not that there is ever a bad time for ice cream, and it  _ would  _ be nice to get a milk-shake after dinner. “Did I change your mind?”

 

Brainy shakes his head, “not at all, but you seem to like them and I like you,” he says, smiling at her, “therefore,  _ ice cream  _ it is.”

 

Kara feels her cheeks warming, resists the urge to cover them with her hands, “thank you,” she knocks their shoulders together, grinning back, “one day I’ll convert you from your sweet-hating ways.”

 

“I don’t hate all sweets. You’re sweet and I love you.”

 

“Oh my god,  _ stop it,”  _ Kara stumbles into him, burying her face on his neck, “you’re making me blush!”

 

He laughs quietly, and she hits him in the arm, mumbling, “you owe me so much ice cream for this,” but it doesn’t sound mad at all, and when he leans down to kiss her, Kara meets him halfway willingly.


	19. Winn Schott, Jr/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: the one where Winn tells Brainy about his father?**  
> .

**sins of the father**

He wakes up with a start.

Sitting up in bed, Winn needs a moment to disperse the fog of sleep and drag himself back from the nightmare. Reality is still a little blurred at the edges and he blinks, hands closing over the blanket, reminding himself  _ this is here, home, safe.  _ And with  _ home  _ comes back the realization he’s not alone– 

“Winn?” Brainy’s voice is soft with sleep and Winn wants to tell him not to worry, go back to sleep, but there are cotton balls in his mouth and too much adrenaline on his blood for his thoughts to filter out clearly. “Is there something wrong?”

“Just a nightmare,” he rasps out, words grating on his dry throat. “It’s fine, go back to sleep.”

Brainy doesn’t go back to sleep. He reaches for Winn, waiting for him to nod before tugging him back down, holding him close against his chest. This way, Winn can feel the steady drum of his heartbeat and– it helps. “Tell me about it,” Brainy suggests, one hand coming up to thread through his hair.

“It’s nothing, really,” Winn sighs, closing his eyes and wrapping an arm around his boyfriend. The plastic gun had felt nearly weightless on his hand that day, but on his dream, it was heavy and bloodied and cold like metal. He shudders, focusing on the warm skin under his palm. “It’s just– the date, in a couple of days it’ll be two years since his death.”

“Your father?” Winn hums in agreement, and feels Brainy nods pensively. “Is this what your nightmare was about?”

“Yes and no,” he says, “a few years ago–  _ god,  _ it feels like so long ago– he broke out of prison. It was back when Kara had just started as Supergirl, and then the FBI got involved, it was a whole thing, but– he kidnapped me. Said a bunch of bullshit about wanting us to be together, how we were the same anyway, how I was gonna be just like him.” A familiar wave of nausea washes over him, stomach churning, and the ticking of the alarm clock on the bedside table feels unbearably loud. “And then, he gave me a gun, told me he was gonna make it easier on me. He said if I didn’t kill the guy who stole his stupid idea, he was going to blow up the entire place and–  _ god,  _ it was a  _ toy  _ convention, there were so many  _ kids.  _ I– if Kara hadn’t shown up when she did– I don’t know–”

“You are not your father,” Brainy tells him, sounding more serious than Winn’s ever heard him. It makes him opens his eyes, look up at him. In the moonlight, his face is sharp with determination and something in his eyes glints bright. “He gave you an impossible choice and you did your best in an unimaginable situation. None of it was your fault.”

Winn wants to say he knows, and on a rational level he understands that, but sometimes he wonders– 

“And he was wrong,” Brainy continues, so impossibly sure it makes something on Winn’s chest constrict, achingly so. “You will not become him. You are your own person– the kindest, bravest person I’ve met, and the man I’ve fallen in love with. None of this will ever change.”

_ How can I deserve you,  _ Winn thinks that might be a better thing to spend his time wondering. He props himself up and kisses Brainy, because  _ god,  _ how can he articulate in words how thankful he is?  _ I love you  _ falls monumentally short to describe the unbridled affection that grows on his heart. 

But Winn knows Brainy understands– the worry, the guilt, the gratitude, and all the  _ I love you _ s in between.


	20. Kara Danvers/Brainy; Lena Luthor & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Hello, happy new year! 🙂 Please, a Karadox "I fell in love with my best friend"? Have a good day 🤗 Kisses ❤**

**I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you**

 

“I have a question,” Brainy tells her, standing in front of her desk. Lena is in the middle of sorting out the paperwork for L-Corp’s new patent, but the troubled look on his face makes her push the papers aside. “It concerns your box system.”

 

She gestures him to sit down, remembering their conversation from what feels like so long ago. Not her healthiest advice, Lena will be the first to admit, but she's glad it helped him in a moment of distress. “Of course, what do you need?”

  
  
Brainy sighs, a distressed sound that Lena had never associated with him before, and sits on one of her chairs, back straight and stiff against the plastic. “Advice, I suppose,” he begins hesitantly, “you told me to shove my feelings into boxes and keep them in the back of my mind, and it has worked perfectly so far.”

  
  
“But?” Lena prompts when his sentence trails off, smiling kindly when he looks up in surprise, “there has to be a _but_ somewhere, or you wouldn't be here.”

  
  
“Indeed,” he smiles back, all politeness and no humor. It sends a pang to her heart, and Lena would cross her table and hug him if she thought that would go over well. “ _But_ , there is one instance, this system seems to keep failing.”

  
  
“Oh,” and now she thinks she might know where this is headed. She recognizes the reluctance on his voice, the faint color on his cheeks; she's been there before enough times to know when someone's in love. “You fell for someone.”

  
  
If her guessing startles him, Brainy doesn't show, simply nodding calmly at her words. “Yes, and no matter how I try to shove these feelings into a box, it never stays hidden for long,” he's not looking at Lena, instead his eyes are focused somewhere on the wall at her right. She wonders why he's _here_ , talking to Lena and not with Kara. God knows she would know better ways to deal with emotions than her. “It is terribly distracting and I'm not sure how to proceed.”

  
  
Lena smiles, feels melancholy skittering at the edges, and hopes it's not coming off patronizing. She doesn't mean to be condescending, but isn't that just the million dollar question? How to proceed when one is in love, she doesn't think anyone knows the answer to that for sure. “Well, I'm not aware of all the details, but I would say telling them how you feel is generally the best thing you could do.”

  
  
He pauses and his brow knits with what Lena figures is worry. She's parroting advice given to her endlessly, the same kind of advice that is repeated over and over everywhere; it's been said so many times, she's not positive it still has any meaning. Brainy tilts his head, something shuttered off in his eyes, “I'm not entirely convinced that would be wise,” he clears his throat, “because, you see, I fell in love with my best friend.”

  
  
_Oh._ Yes, that might complicate things. Except– “You fell in love with _Supergirl_ ?” Brainy nods, pointedly not looking at Lena. She couldn't keep the surprise from her voice, but in all honesty, Lena is not surprised at all. After what happened at the DEO lab, she had wondered. It looks like Brainy needn't be so worried after all. “Then you should definitely tell her.”

  
  
“But what if she doesn't feel the same, how can I put our friendship in jeopardy– ” 

 

  
“Brainy,” Lena interrupts him as softly as she can, “I've seen the way she looks at you– every time, no matter how crowded is the room, she only has eyes for you.” 

 

  
Lena watches as so many things seem to flash through his eyes until hope snags a place to stay, bright and warm. She grins, genuinely happy and excited for him, knowing how exhilarating it can be– the quick pulse of a heart, the butterflies, eyes meeting across the room, shy touches, a first kiss– and how wonderful it is.

 

  
But before Brainy can say anything, the door to her office swings open and Kara stumbles into the room, eyes wide behind her glasses. “Sorry,” she rushes out, nervously fixing her hair, “sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt– Eve let me in, and– _sorry.”_

 

Most of the time, Lena finds her flustered babbling adorably sweet, but right now, it sounds tragic. Because Lena can see the signs here too, she sees the way her friend is avoiding looking at Brainy while her gaze inevitably wanders back to him, and while Lena would choose Kara over Supergirl anytime, his heart is already set on the superhero.

 

She makes a mental note to bring Kara ice cream and alcohol later.

 

“Did you need something, Kara?” Lena asks, hoping to ease the awkwardness, “not that I’m not happy to see you, but–”

 

“No, no, you’re busy, you guys are busy, it’s fine,” she waves her off with a nonchalance that could not be more obviously fake. “Hey, Brainy, can we– I mean, after you finish here–” she stops, takes a deep breath, “can we talk?”

 

And Brainy seems to have fully lost his voice, nodding mutely before abruptly standing up. He turns to Lena, a shaky, grateful smile on his face, “thank you, I shall take your advice into consideration.”

 

Kara fidgets, watching them with a strange glint on her eyes, but Lena chalks it up to the sun glancing off her glasses. “I’ll uh, schedule an interview later? For CatCo, I mean.”

 

“Sounds wonderful to me,” Lena tells her honestly. If only all reporters were as stubbornly fair as Kara. She watches her two friends leave, distinctly avoiding each other's eyes.

 

Frowning to herself, Lena uncaps her pen again. It still feels as if she’s just missed something fundamental.

 

*

 

Kara lasts about as long as it takes them to get to the roof.

 

Her thoughts are a tangled mess of livewires circling over one another, and yet all she hears is _you fell in love with Supergirl?_

 

She feels bad for eavesdropping, but in her defense, it was an accident. Kara had been about to knock when she overheard those words and then she was rooted to the spot, unable to move away. And all the way up here, their hands would brush and every inch of skin would feel on _fire,_ and all she wants to do is kiss him until the whole world stops spinning.

 

Instead, she asks, “was that true, what you told Lena?”

 

Brainy is nervous. There’s a hesitancy on his movements that Kara’s never seen before, and her heart is a rabbit trying to escape her ribcage. “Every word,” he says.

 

And Kara, she–

 

– she kisses him because how could she not, because she wants to, because she’s allowed to, because Brainy is in love with her and she is in love with him, and there is nothing more wonderful than _this._


	21. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Kara and Brainy - Make a wish**

**once upon a star**

 

They’re sitting outside on the roof.

 

It’s one those rare lulls in activity when the city is quiet and everyone’s safe, and they find themselves without anything pressing to do. Kara likes it, the opportunity to stop and  _ breathe.  _

 

And with Brainy sitting here beside her, it feels like all puzzle pieces have slid into place.

 

“I love the night sky,” she confides, eyes fixed on the multitude of twinkling dots overhead, “but it’s so different here, from Krypton. The constellations, even the moon, don’t look the same.”

 

“It is very different from Colu as well,” Brainy says, and his voice has the same far away ring as hers. She supposes, out of everyone, he would understand it the most. “And from the 31st Century. There are stars here that don’t exist in my time.” 

 

She looks down at him, watches as he points out a couple of them, and it’s a little sad, she thinks, that even stars die. “Do you miss it?”

 

“Colu?” He asks, sharpened by surprise, then softens, “sometimes, even though things have not always been pleasant there. But I find that I miss my friends more, the uncertainty of staying here while they fight– ”

 

He trails off, but Kara gets it. Only one day of watching her sister fight while she was powerless had already been terrible enough. “They will be okay,” she assures him, interlocking their fingers and squeezing his hand, “they have Winn and Mon-El and Imra, there’s no way anyone can beat them.”

 

Brainy offers her a small smile, shifting closer until their shoulders are pressed together. “I certainly hope so.”

 

“Good. If there’s one thing I’ve learned these past years,” she says, “is that hope is a very powerful thing.”

 

There’s no answer to that, not really, because there’s nothing either of them can do from this century. Hoping will have to be enough. Kara sighs, resting her head on his shoulder, and goes back to watching the stars.

 

She sees the moment a bright streak enters the atmosphere, burning up across the sky, and a spark of excitement lights up inside her. “Brainy, look!” She nudges him, “a shooting star! Quick, make a wish!”

 

“You realize this is merely meteoroids that catch on fire due to their velocity and friction against Earth’s atmosphere, and therefore have no magical ability whatsoever if granting wishes, right?”

 

“I know, I know, but it’s a human tradition to wish upon shooting stars,” Kara nudges him again, grinning, “just do it. Who knows, it might come true.”

 

“It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose,” Brainy closes his eyes, seeming to fall into deep concentration, and Kara glances up at the thin trail in the sky, then follows suit.

 

_ Whatever he wishes,  _ she asks fiercely,  _ let it come true. _


	22. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy and kara "You're just so adorable!" ❤❤❤**

**some kind of fairytale bliss**   


 

He’s not doing anything special when it happens.

 

In fact, that is nothing special about anything that day. It’s an average Tuesday and they’re eating dinner on her couch while watching an episode of Star Trek, like they’ve been doing for months now. The food is good like it always is and the show too is good like it always is. The night is cloudy and the wind is breezing cold, the stars are pale blinking lights too far away and too outshined by the city lights.

 

But Brainy is saying something about the inaccuracy of what one of the characters just said, commenting on how impossible that is, especially for its time, and suddenly all Kara thinks is  _ I love you.  _

 

It hits her out of nowhere, marching inside her heart and claiming stake, rooting all the way around her lungs. The kind of feeling so insurmountable, unbridled, that she thinks she might burst if she doesn’t do something now. She loves him, and that’s all there is to it.

 

“Kara,” Brainy asks, frowning with worry, “are you alright?”

 

His hand is on her knee and her skin is burning up like she might catch on fire at any moment now. “Yeah, I’m fine. You’re just so adorable,” she says instead of the confession hanging precariously to the tip of her tongue. It’s too soon, she thinks, to lay all her cards like this. She wears her heart on her sleeve, anyway, she might as well hide a few aces up there with it.

 

Brainy seems to startle at her answer, probably suffering whiplash from her sudden change of conversation. Star Trek has got nothing to do with her feelings bleeding all over the place, after all. But he clears his throat, gathering himself, and tells her, sounding painfully honest, “and you are the most beautiful being I’ve ever laid eyes on. Kindest, as well.” A pause, “there is not enough time to go over all your qualities, I’m afraid.”

 

“Oh my god,” Kara says, and then promptly dies. She melts in a puddle of Kryptonian goo because she just can’t deal tonight. She can’t deal with Brainy looking so terribly beautiful and saying things like this to her, and she can’t deal with the jackhammer beat of her heart thudding on her chest. 

 

“Have I upset you?” asks Brainy, as if he hadn’t just sent her into short-circuit. “I intended only in reciprocating the compliment. Should I not–”

 

“No, no, I’m not upset. That was so sweet,” she assures him, hoping she’s not blushing as hard as it feels. Any chances of holding back her recent revelation are torn to pieces, the words spill from her lips, falling in the inches between them on the couch.  _ “I love you. _

 

Surprise flashes on his eyes, turning into relief, into something light and shiny that matches the tangle of emotions Kara cradles on her ribcage. He kisses her breathless, stealing the air from her lungs, and when he speaks, she feels every letter brush against her lips,  _ “no more than I love you.” _


	23. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - I really love holding you, darling Please**

**take me in your arms and hold me tight**

 

They’re finally having another movie night.

Honestly, after the year they all had, a movie night is the  _ least  _ they deserve. It feels like a lifetime ago since they did this. A lifetime since Kara could stretch on her couch, the softest blanket wrapped around her, and allow herself to  _ relax.  _

Tonight is not a night for Supergirl. Unless the world’s about to end, tonight she is Kara Danvers, a reporter for CatCo, and she is going to  _ rest.  _

The doorbell rings, and she hears Alex greeting their guest. If she really wanted, Kara could listen to the conversation, but Alex’s voice doesn’t have the underlying steel that always backs her words when she’s dealing with DEO matters, so she makes no effort to make out any meaning from the murmur floating to the living room. 

She stays there, lying on the couch, drifting in and out of consciousness, and the next thing she registers is Brainy gently shaking her shoulder, asking her if she’s okay. Kara yawns, “no, ‘m fine. Just tired,” she says, smiling when he leans down to kiss her. “Stay?”

And because she’s not above playing dirty, Kara does her best puppy eyes, making grabby hands at her boyfriend. Brainy sighs, fondly exasperated, throwing the kitchen one last look and probably giving up on doing whatever Alex tasked him to do. Her arms immediately wrap around him, holding him as close as possible, and Kara buries her face on his neck. “This is nice,” she hums contently.

Before Brainy can say anything back, Alex calls, “Kara, we need more popcorn!” A few seconds and she appears, offering them beers, “here’s your bribe.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she tells her sister, “but I’m not moving if that’s what you’re proposing. You can use the microwave.”

Alex makes a face, making a show out of rolling her eyes, and marches back to the kitchen, beers left behind on the coffee table.

Brainy shifts, tugging up the blanket, “I’m glad you find this comforting.”  

“It’s cozy,” Kara half-shrugs, getting more comfortable in the cushions and pressing a kiss to his neck, “besides, I really love holding you, darling.”

It makes Brainy shiver, and she snickers; turns out, being Kara Danvers is not so bad, after all.


	24. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Hi Karadox "You make me so happy!" Please?**

**here comes the sun**

 

Kara can’t stop grinning.

 

No, seriously, it’s a problem. Well, not really, because the whole wide world seems to be sharing her good mood– the sky is a cloudless blue, the birds are chirping cheerfully, even the elevator’s song sounded less annoying. At this point, she wouldn’t be surprised if the sun had a cartoonish smile.

 

Although, that one might be kinda terrifying.

 

Or not, who knows? With rose-tinted glasses, everything is nicer.

 

“Well, someone’s in a good mood today. I’d ask why,” Alex sidles up beside her in the balcony, leaning against the rail and watching her amusedly, “but I know for a fact this someone had a date last night.”

 

Out here, Kara can feel sunlight warming her skin, energy buzzing just beneath the surface, and she thinks this is what happiness feels like. “Yup,” she bites her lips, trying to contain at least just a little of the emotions bleeding through. “First date.”

 

“Okay, you can stop trying to hide that grin,” she says, poking Kara’s cheeks once, “the dimples don’t lie.”

 

Kara makes a face, and it lasts about another second before she caves in, giggling, “yeah, no, I can’t, sorry,” she ducks her face, knocking shoulders with her sister, “it’s been a while since I’ve been this happy.”

 

Alex smiles back, with just a bit of sadness pulling at the edges that tells Kara she’s thinking of Maggie. “I’m glad. You both deserve it.” Something catches her eyes, and her grin turns mischievous, “and talking about dimples, the reason behind yours is here.”

 

Brainy is walking towards them, and Kara feels giddy all over again. He looks so good and the memories of kissing goodnight at the door to her loft are pressed against her eyelids like the afterimages of fireworks. Her cheeks feel warm,  _ oh god,  _ she’s blushing, isn’t she?

 

“Good morning, Director Danvers,” he hesitates, pausing for a brief moment, and his voice softens, “ _ Kara _ .”

 

“Hi,” she breathes, and  _ damn it,  _ giggles. She can hear her sister snorting beside her, but Brainy’s smiling too, and Kara can’t look away.

 

“Hey, Brainy,” greets Alex, clapping him on the shoulder, “I’m going to go ahead and warn Pam in the HR you two will be talking to her soon.”

 

They don’t watch Alex go. Instead, Kara lets this magnetic pull that’s been tugging at her all morning tip her forward, crossing the steps between them like it’s nothing. She knows they should at least try to keep things professional at work, but it’s just– it feels so  _ right  _ when Brainy meets her halfway, hands resting on her waist so carefully like she might break under too much pressure. Kara pulls back a little, smiling against his lips, before hiding her face in the crook of his neck, “sorry,” she murmurs, not at all apologetic, “it’s just–  _ you make me so happy.” _

 

This close, she can feel his heartbeat speed up and his breathing stutter, and it makes her own heart skip a beat. Brainy speaks, voice quiet, words meant only for her, “you make me happier than I’ve thought possible as well.”

  
  
  



	25. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - This is why I fell in love with you 😊**

 

**I'd steal the sun from the sky for you**

 

It’s not that Kara had a crappy day, but  _ Kara definitely had a crappy day. _

 

She feels the weight of the world on her shoulders in a way she hasn’t in a long time– in the very human  _ I’m failing at everything right now  _ way. Being Supergirl  _ and  _ Kara Danvers has always been a tightrope she’s still kinda getting good at, and sometimes, she comes so very dangerously close to falling off.

 

Even as she walks home, Kara can still see the disappointed look on James face when she failed to deliver the story she had  _ promised  _ would be ready that morning. And he had understood, really, he had, but somehow that just makes it worse. And then she had to tell Nia she wouldn’t be able to help edit  _ her  _ story because if Kara didn’t finish writing until midday, they wouldn’t be able to publish it tomorrow. 

 

And  _ then,  _ because when it rains, it _ pours _ , Lillian had broken out of prison and tried to attack L-Corp. She didn’t go very far, not without her lackeys, but Lena still took it hard– that  _ is  _ her mother, after all. There’s still many, many missed calls on her phone, but Kara couldn’t be there for Lena, not while she was still searching for Lillian and sending her back to prison. She can’t be Supergirl  _ and  _ Kara at the same time.

 

It was an awful day all around, and really, all she wants to do is dive under a blanket and disappear for a month.

 

But as soon as she opens the door to her apartment, she’s hit with the smell of warm pizza.

 

“Brainy?” Kara calls, tiptoeing quietly into the kitchen. What she finds, chases away any dark cloud hanging over her head. “Is that hot chocolate?”

 

“Indeed. With cinnamon and marshmallows,” he passes her the mug and she can see the tiny white pieces floating on top– just like she loves. “You usually make it this way when you’re upset, or so I’ve seen. And,” he gestures the small tower of pizza boxes on the table, “we have pizza for dinner. Or Chinese food. Or Italian. I was not sure which one you liked most, so I ordered all three to be safe.”

 

Now that she’s paying attention, Kara notices the takeout bags near the pizzas, and  _ oh my god.  _ “You did this? For me?”

 

“Yes,” Brainy says like it’s obvious, like it’s no big deal, like it isn’t the nicest thing anyone’s done to her in a long time. “You seemed upset today, so I thought this might help cheer you up. Was I wrong?”

 

Kara can’t answer. She’s emotional, and she’s tired, and she’s had a very shitty day, and her boyfriend brought her all the things she loves the most because he knew she was sad– if she tried to say anything, she’s sure she’d start crying. So instead, she collapses in his arms, letting him hug her close. “Thank you,” she murmurs, eyes shut, “thank you. It’s perfect, it’s–  _ thank you.” _

 

Brainy kisses the top of her head, guiding her to a chair, “there’s no need to thank me,” he smiles, waving towards all the food, “which one would you like?”

 

“Let’s start with pizza first,” she grins in answer, and if it’s a little shaky and a little teary, he doesn’t comment. “Then we’ll work our way to the others.”

 

“I should warn you,” he places a plate already with a slice on it in front of her, “there’s also ice cream in the fridge.”

 

If before her heart had been shriveling with cold and metaphorical rain, now it’s filled with a golden warmth that spreads beyond her ribcage. Kara’s so in love, she could burst with it. “Oh my god,” she gasps dramatically, “this is why I fell in love with you.”

 

“The cake and the pizza?” Brainy smiles a heart-stopping smile.

 

“Yeah,” she says, meaning something else entirely, “the cake and the pizza.”

 


	26. Lena Luthor & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Lena being curious about Brainy? (who he really is, how he functions as a techno-organic being, what his powers are/how they work, because I feel like she'd be interested in all of that.)**

 

**tell me your secrets and ask me your questions**

 

Lena is curious.

 

She can’t help it, really. She’s a scientist at heart, she will always be naturally drawn towards asking questions and seeking answers. 

 

And the more she knows Brainy, the more fascinated she is.

 

It’s not that she wants to  _ study  _ him, dear god, no, it’s just that everytime they interact, she learns something new about him and his abilities and it’s all utterly  _ brilliant.  _ She wants to know because there is so much to learn– _ she can’t help it. _

 

So it keeps happening.

 

*

 

They’re working on something to break through a particularly tricky force field, and so far all they agree on is that it’s definitely technological, if Maxwell Lord’s company logo being branded in one of the devices is anything to go off, and  _ maybe  _ deriving from some sort of changing frequency. It’s a theory, alright.

 

And without knowing precisely what they’re working with, there’s little they can do to counteract it, so Lena can’t see a lot of ways around it right now.

 

“Perhaps,” Brainy interrupts her thoughts, sitting in front of the computer beside her, a look of determined concentration on his face, “there might be a way. I’ll run a search on Lord’s old company files, there could still be something left.”

 

“Search his personal files as well,” she suggests. She knows enough about Lord and his obsessions to know he would not keep something like this on anything but his own servers. Which will most likely be under heavy cryptography. 

 

Unbelievable. That narcissistic sociopath keeps making their lives more difficult, even after he’s gone.

 

“Done,” Brainy exclaims, sitting up on his chair with a victorious glint on his eyes, “you were right, I found this on his personal computer.”

 

He pulls up a set of specs on the screen, detailing a device that looks a lot like the force-field generator they’re dealing with. And it  _ is  _ working out of a frequency modulator– Lena allows herself a minute of satisfaction. “This is great news, now all we need is build something to neutralize the modulator.” Then, because layers of cryptography cannot possibly be breached in such a short time period, she asks, “but I have to ask, how did you do it so fast?”

 

Before any answer could be given, Supergirl’s voice rings through the comms,  _ “guys? I hate to rush you, but,”  _ something explodes on the background,  _ “we’re kinda running out of time out here– Alex! Stay out of– I gotta go– hey, that tree never did anything to you, you–” _

 

The line disconnects, and they get to work.

 

*

 

Supergirl is in a coma again.

 

It seems to happen more often than Lena thought possible for a seemingly invincible Kryptonian.

 

At the very least, she is stable this time, out of any immediate danger– for all intents and purposes, she is merely asleep.

 

Whatever poison is coursing through her veins, it looks like it was made to neutralize her, not kill her. And isn’t that a testament of how low the bar is for good news that  _ not dying, only in a coma  _ is considered one? 

 

Either way, her eyes are beginning to hurt from looking through the microscope for so long and her back has long since gone numb, when Brainy bursts through the doors, a cloud of nanites trailing after him, “I have isolated the poison’s compounds!” The nanites titter, and he shushes them, amending, “I apologize, the  _ nanites  _ have isolated the poison’s compounds.”

 

“Did they just talk to you?” Lena knows there are more important things to worry about, but the question slips before she realizes. Last time they worked with the nanites, did he mean literally when he said he  _ asked  _ them to eat the Kryptonite? She shakes her head, “nevermind. Good job, let’s get to work. It’s about time Sleeping Beauty over there wakes up.”

 

*

 

“It’s ready!” Lena shouts over the ongoing fight. It’s very stressful to calibrate a machine not previously intended to do so to send an EMP on a very specific wavelength, but at this point, Lena is used to stressful situations. God knows this isn’t the first time she’s needed to do something very delicate under heavy fire. “Supergirl?”

 

“Hold on,” she shouts back, before flying up after today’s villain. They’re too high up, out of the pulse’s reach unless someone else flies after them. Lena supposes she  _ does  _ own a jet, she could– 

 

“I shall take this close enough to them,” Brainy is suddenly there beside her, the henchmen he had been forced to fight off unconscious on the floor. “Stay out of sight and you will be safe, Agent Danvers is almost here.”

 

And then the device is out of her hands and Brainy is off, flying up after Supergirl and their villain.

 

_ “He can fly too?”  _ Lena asks the empty room. Sadly, dead men tell no tale, and neither does the knocked out ones.

 

*

 

It’s easy to forget that Lena Luthor  _ is  _ the CEO of L-Corp, or so it would seem if the number of times either Alex or Supergirl have called her to the DEO, expecting her to immediately drop whatever it is she is doing, is anything to go by.

 

This time, however, it is not Alex or Supergirl that walk into her office. It’s not Kara either, the more pleasing kind of interruption. It’s Brainy that marches in through the doors, Jess mid-complaint behind him. Lena waves her off apologetically, before smiling, “hi, Brainy, it’s been a while.”

 

“Hello, Lena,” he greets her, choosing to stay standing instead of taking the offered chair, “I will not take long. I’ve noticed you have questions about me, but due to circumstances I have not been able to answer them yet.”

 

She’s not sure if she should be ashamed, or if she’s offended him somehow with her inquiries, but Lena still feels like a child caught with her hand on the cookie jar. “I apologize if I ever made you uncomfortable,” she tells him honestly, “I assure you, I only ask out of harmless curiosity.”

 

“Oh, I know, do not worry,” Brainy smiles, hands clasped behind his back, “and I would have replied had we not been otherwise distracted. Which is why I’m here today. There is no immediate threat as of now and I calculate the odds are low on the situation changing in the near future, so would you like to have coffee? You can ask your question and I will answer them as best as I can, and in return, I would only request the caffeine.”

 

Her eyebrows raise, “you want coffee as payment?”

 

“Alex has prohibited me to bring any more caffeine-based substances to the DEO for at least twenty-four hours. She says she will not drive me to the hospital if I need to get my stomach pumped and would not change her mind, even after I explained it is impossible for me to overdose on coffee.”

 

Somehow, Lena doubts that is a certified fact, but then again, she supposes she might add it to her list of questions. “Make it a latte and we have a deal.”

 

“Very well,” he offers his hand for her to shake, “shall we go?”

 

Lena Luthor is the CEO of L-Corp, but if forced to choose between paperwork and a chance to sate her curiosity, she will always be reliable to invariably choose the latter, especially when enabled by a friend.

 

“Lead the way.”


	27. Zari Tomaz/Charlie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: AU where Charlie gets her powers back somehow and turns into a cat to pay Zari back for all the time she spent turned into a cat by accident**

**with cats, some say one rule is true**

 

Zari notices the cat following her around right away because of course she does. They’re on a time ship floating on the time stream, they don’t get strays climbing in through open windows. Which means– 

 

“Who’s the cutest stowaway ever?” She coos, picking the cat up. It only mews in response, but Zari can’t help finding it strangely cheeky. “Yeah, that’s right, you are! Yes, you are!”

 

The grey cat looks surprisingly similar to what Zari remembers glimpsing in the mirror during her own time as one, and for a second she wonders if this is finally it, if she’s lost it and succumbed to cabin fever. But the small animal mews again, demanding attention, and she couldn’t possibly be hallucinating the soft fur under her hands or the crossed look on its eyes.

 

“When did we pick you up, hm?” She asks, turning it around gently to see if there’s any sort of tag or clue from where it came from, “and how did you sneak past Gideon?”

 

It mews and this time, it sounds a lot like it's laughing. “Are you making fun of me, you little furball?” Another mew.  _ Yes.  _ “Okay, you know what–  _ wait.”  _

 

Did the cat just answer her?

 

She drops it back on the floor, narrowing her eyes at its familiar self-satisfied expression, the tail furling and unfurling in the air.  _ No way.  _ “Charlie? Is that you?”

 

Another affirmative mew, and  _ wow,  _ okay, this is bad. “Oh no, what happened?  _ Shit,  _ is that fairy godmother back? Didn’t John send it to hell? This is Constantine’s fault, isn’ it? Did he mess around with the timeline again? I’m going to  _ kill  _ him.” 

 

Zari can just see it, really. Typical. She needs to check on the jump ship, she needs to hit him in the head with a brick– 

 

The cat shimmers, glowing bright white until she has to avert her eyes, and– 

 

“No need for murder quite yet, love,” Charlie says, grinning infuriatingly satisfied, “but it was Constantine’s fault, yes. We’ve been working on something– seems like it worked, hm, what do you think?” She says, whirling around and gesturing herself as she quickly flits through different bodies. Charlie is Amaya, then Nate, then Constantine, then the Queen, then once again a cat, then back as Amaya.

 

_ As Charlie. _

 

There’s always something so fundamentally different, so undeniably  _ Charlie,  _ no matter which forms she’s in– even a tiny ball of fluff.

 

“You got your powers back?” Zari’s eyebrows are climbing higher and higher, “and your first thought is to turn into a cat?”

 

Charlie shrugs, and her grin is still fixed in place like she just can’t help herself, and Zari supposes she honestly can’t. Being a shapeshifter has always been important to Charlie in ways Zari can only  _ sort of  _ understand, but watching the unbridled joy on her eyes– it’s kind of adorable, in a heartwarming kind of way. “Well,” she drawls, “I just figured, since I’ve got you turned into one, it’s only fair.” Her grin flashes into a smirk, “besides, Ray’s been feeding me his cookies all morning.”

 

“Did no one think to ask Gideon why there’s a cat on the ship?”

 

“It’s been five hours and counting,” Charlie shrugs again, laughs happily, and Zari can’t bring herself to be mad. “Wanna see how long it takes them to figure it out?”

 

She should say no. “Sure,” Zari disregards the large, rational side of her brain. “I’m betting on Sara at the eight-hour mark.”

 

“Really? Fine then, I swear not to rig the game,” she tells her mockingly serious, “cross my heart and all that.”

 

Zari snorts, too fond, too real for her taste; it slips out before she can reign it in. “Yeah, right.”

 

“Like I said,” Charlie steps right up into her space, “it’s only fair. But on more important matters– so besides hot, you think I’m cute, darling?”

 

Her cheeks are warm, but Zari soldiers on, brushing past Charlie with her head held high, “beat it, smart ass,” and if she’s grinning, it’s only a little. It doesn’t have to mean anything.  “Don’t you have some groveling you should be doing? And a bet I should be winning?”

 

“Bossy,” she muses considering, “yeah, still into it. See you on the flipside, love.”

 

And then, Charlie is glowing again, and the next thing she knows, Zari has a cat pawing at her legs. “So you want up now, is that it? And you call  _ me  _ bossy.” She scoffs, but picks her up anyway, “what should I do with you? Ray? You think we can scam more cookies out of him? Fine, I shall accept your bribery.”

 

Charlie purrs, settling on Zari’s arms, and well. There are worse things in the world, Zari thinks, for her to waste her time on.


	28. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - You're so clingy, I love it!**

**another day goes by, so hold me tight**

 

Sometimes, Kara just wants to stay home and do absolutely nothing.

 

Sure, it’s rare for the opportunity to rise, but when it finally does, she holds on to it and refuses to let go. You don’t pass up on the chance to stay curled up on the couch with your boyfriend.

 

Especially not when you’re watching Star Wars– it would be legitimately a crime.

 

That’s why when they ended up unexpectedly snowed in this morning, Kara needed all of her super strength to keep herself from whooping with delight.

Brainy had not been as excited, but after she steered him to the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, wrapping them with the softest blanket she could find, he had come around.

 

The fact she had snuggled close to his side, leaning against his chest, might have helped. He doesn’t admit it, but he loves cuddling, Kara knows.

 

“This movie is incredibly inaccurate,” he comments, one hand absently stroking her hair. “But I have to admit it  _ is  _ entertaining.”

 

She hums in agreement, leaning further into his touch. It’s hard to pay attention to anything that isn’t  _ Brainy  _ and  _ them  _ and  _ quiet.  _ It’s hard to pay attention to anything at all.

 

Her mug has been resting empty on the coffee table for some time now, and it would be attracting an army of ants by now if it weren’t for the cold. Maybe ants like to snuggle too, or at least, Kara would like to think so. 

 

A gust of cold air rustles the curtains, and she shivers, burrowing herself deeper in the blankets and Brainy pulls her even closer. “You’re cold,” he notes, eyeing the discarded mug, “I’ll make you more hot chocolate.”

 

He tries to leave, but Kara wraps herself tighter around him, clinging for dear life. Her sister had called her an octopus once, and now she absolutely lives up to the name.  _ “No,”  _ she whines, tugging him back down until she’s comfortably pillowed on his chest. “Stay. Don’t need chocolate, I have you,” she sighs contentedly, “like you more than even chocolate.”

 

“You’re clingy,” Brainy says, resuming stroking her hair, and there’s something lightheartedly fond on his voice.

 

“Do you mind?”

 

“Not at all,” he presses a kiss to her forehead, tucking in the blankets around her, “I love it.”

 

Kara thanks any and all deities that might be up there for the five inches of snow blocking her driveway. 


	29. Alex Danvers & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy being afraid that he's going to get fired from the DEO (because of the whole hiding his identity thing) and Alex comforting him?**

**cause every little thing, is gonna be alright**

 

“There has to be a way,” Alex says aloud because leaving the words to loop around her head is worse, “we just need to keep looking.”

 

Ever since their shift ended, Alex and Brainy had converged into the DEO library. It’s a very old room that not many people know about– hopefully, that Colonel Haley doesn’t know about. And here, they can look through all protocols and manuals, search for something they can use to bring Supergirl back.

 

“There’s gotta be  _ something _ we can do,” she kicks the chair’s leg sending it toppling down. It makes her feel marginally better, but Alex still itches to punch something that bleeds, preferably Colonel Haley’s arrogant face or the President’s. Is that treason? “I’d say we need a hail mary, but at this point, any plan would be a hail mary.”

 

Alex waits for the inevitable question, gathering the last shreds of her patience not to snap something rude– but it never comes.  _ Silence.  _ That’s new. She looks up from her book, frowning, “Brainy?”

 

He’s staring off at the distance, his own book forgotten on the table, starting at the sound of his name. “I apologize,” he clears his throat, and his eyes seem to focus back in the present, but there’s a frown on his face. He’s worried, Alex knows, but she thinks this might be about something more than Kara. “I was distracted, could you repeat the question?”

 

“Come on, what’s going on?” She rights her chair, pushing it closer to him. The library is a large place and full of echo, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. “Did something happen?”

 

“No,” he shakes his head, amending, “or, not yet. With this new transparency policy, it’s only a matter of time until the Colonel figures out all my documents are fake.” There’s an uncertainty on his voice that Alex hasn’t heard before, and the heavy silence of the library, it rings glaringly loud. “I confess, I do not know the best course of action to take should I be relieved of duty, and this has been quite distracting.”

 

_ Oh.  _ Alex internally kicks herself– how come she keeps forgetting to check how Brainy’s feeling? Of course he would be scared of being fired. He’s an alien from another century, he hasn’t seen much beyond the DEO’s walls and short trips to their apartments–  _ of course this would be scary.  _ She rests a hand on his shoulder, “look, I can’t promise you Colonel Haley won’t fire you– that’s out of my hands,” she says honestly, deciding a logical approach would be easier for him to accept, “but I  _ can  _ promise you won’t be alone. If she kicks you out, I have a spare bedroom in my apartment and so does Kara. You can  _ choose  _ which one you’d like to stay. And don’t think for a second Lena wouldn’t rent the nicest hotel room for you if you asked.” Alex smiles gently, the one she used to reserve for when Kara woke up from her nightmares, “you have friends here too, you don’t have to worry. And what I said earlier still stands, if anyone wants to give you any shit, they’ll have to get through me first, okay?”

 

“Thank you,” Brainy’s voice wavers, but she politely doesn’t mention it, and he nods gratefully, “I don’t think I could ever repay your kindness, Alex Danvers.”

 

Oh no. He’s  _ not  _ going to make her cry too. “Well,” she sniffs, pulling the books back towards them, “you could always help me find my hail mary in these old things.”

 

The response is immediate. “Why would you need a well-known Christian prayer? I fail to see how this could be relevant–”

 

Alex grins. Things might be scary right now, but they’ll be okay.


	30. Brainy & Kara Danvers & Alex Danvers & Lena Luthor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy not being able to choose where to stay, so he divides his time between Alex's apartment, Kara's apartment, and a hotel room Lena got him ******

**but if you had to choose**

 

As soon as he sets foot in the hotel room, Querl knows he’s in trouble.

 

Mainly because Lena, Kara, and Alex are standing in the middle of the room with expressions that don’t need words to scream _explain._ And in all honesty, it’s almost a relief. Lying by omission weights nearly as heavy on his shoulders as flat-out lying did. “I can explain,” he says, dropping his bag on a chair. “It was an accident,” Alex scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest, but sits down on the bed. It’s a good sign, Querl thinks as the other two follow suit. “I did not mean to lie, but things spiraled out of control.” They tend to do that in this century, or so his personal experiences seem to indicate.

 

Clearing his throat, he begins where all tales do, from the very start.

 

*

 

Colonel Haley firing him isn’t a surprise, not at all. Still, it stings as much as he expected it to, and he retreats to the quiet of his bedroom to lick his wounds. Rationally, Querl knows there was never any chance to win with her, she had been intolerant and set on her prejudices from the start, but he had _hoped,_ if he did a good enough job, then _maybe–_ but it doesn’t matter.

 

The fact is that he is no longer able to work on the job he had _promised_ to do. Winn had trusted him to be here in his place, and Querl had failed. For now, at least. Later, when his mind isn't busy trying to come up with a solution for his newly acquired homelessness problem, he _will_ find a way to keep helping Supergirl and the others.

 

There is not much to pack, he didn’t bring a lot of things with him– never had the time to properly pack back then either. And so, he’s zipping his suitcase closed when Alex barges in, closing the door behind her. “Hey, thank god, you’re still here,” she’s a little out of breath, and he wonders if she ran all the way downstairs. “I don’t have much time, they’ll notice I’m gone soon, but here,” she presses a key to his hand, “it’s for my apartment, my offer still stands, you can stay there as long as you need.”

 

It’s not that he didn’t remember their conversation a few days earlier, but promising something when it’s all hypothetical is easy. Querl didn’t want to assume, didn’t want to impose. “Thank you,” he says, closing his fist around it. There’s a lot of trust in letting someone in your home, he will not forget this. “I don’t know how to–”

 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Alex interrupts, waving him off, “but I gotta go. And hey? We’ll fix this, okay? We’ll get you and Kara back, I promise.”

 

And then she’s gone, sneaking her way back to the control room.

 

*

 

And here is how things begin to– he wouldn’t say go _wrong,_ but it’s not exactly an ideal situation either. This is when it all first derails.

 

He’s just left the DEO, suitcase in hand and backpack on, wondering if it’s worth to call a cab or just wait around until Alex’s shift is over. It wouldn’t take long, he doesn’t think, but he might run into the Colonel or some less pleasant agents and–

 

“Brainy?” It’s Lena, lab coat still on as she climbs down the stairs. Her expression is half worry, half anger; she must have heard already then. “I’ve just talked with Alex– I’m truly sorry, I can’t believe they would do that to you.”

 

“It’s quite alright,” he says, even though it isn’t, not by far, it’s not even _logical._ “I’ll admit I’m a bit upset about the whole thing, but it’ll be fine– _boxes,_ right?”

 

It seems that wasn’t the best thing to say, as she only grows more distressed. “Right, right, but what can I do to help?”

 

“Thank you for the offer, but there’s no need, really,” Querl tries to reassure her. It would do neither of them any good to draw attention in the sidewalk, in the middle of so many civilians. “I will be fine.”

 

“At least let me get you a car,” Lena says, already pulling out her phone and dialing. She taps her fingers on her arm impatiently, and he decides to accept her offer is the path of least resistance. Being yelled at in a room full of people is surprisingly tiring and he would very much like to lay down for a bit. _“Hello, yes, could you bring the car around? No, I need you to drive a friend to–_ where should I tell him to drop you?”

 

The last question is directed to him and Querl finds he doesn’t have an answer. Alex’s apartment is too vague a description, not an actual address. He tries to remember ever visiting, but comes up empty as well, any activities are all held at Kara’s place. It’s a stupid mistake, forgetting to ask Alex for directions, and he can’t go back inside now, Colonel Haley had banned him from all government facilities. _What was he thinking–_

 

“Oh dear,” Lena breathes, pulling him into a hug. It’s a little awkward at first, as he was not prepared but for the gesture and he’s sure it shows, but before he left for the first time, Winn showed him how to _bro hug._ And Lena would surely count as a ‘bro’ by now, right? “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.”

 

“Thank you,” he sighs in relief. Of course, she would know Alex’s address. A car rounds the corner, nicer than any cab in the city and with a trunk that will fit his bags less dangerously than Alex’s bike.

 

“I need to go back inside– as much as I wish to tell that Colonel exactly where to shove it, this city needs that filter.” She helps him into the car, rattling off an address to the driver, before turning to him one last time, “should you need anything else, don’t hesitate to call, alright?”

 

Something about the address bothers him. The name of the street, it’s downtown, Alex could never afford it with a government salary, and– _it’s a hotel._ Lena didn’t know Querl already had a place to stay, she probably interpreted his hesitation as lack of options. He needs to–

 

The car is halfway to the next street and Lena Luthor is a shrinking figure waving goodbye from the sidewalk.

 

*

 

And this is the final nail on the metaphorical coffin.

 

His coffin.

 

He’s at Nanoon’s getting coffee, waiting for his order so distractedly he doesn’t even notice Kara approaching. Querl is in the middle of he considers a halfway decent plan to tell the truth to both Alex and Lena without hurting any of their feelings, and then suddenly there’s a blur of blonde hair and pastel colors wrapping her arms around him. She startles him a little, but it’s– _nice._ Kara is very good at hugging in his opinion.

 

“I’m so sorry,” she says, voice angry and sad and frustrated all rolled in one sentence, “Colonel Jerk Face has no business kicking you out– it’s all just so unfair!”

 

“It will be fine,” he assures her because, at this point, he almost believes so. “We will find a way to reinstate us both soon.”

 

“Yeah, I know, but even so,” Kara makes a face, scrunching up her nose as if tasting something sour, “it still sucks. How are you feeling?”

 

The question catches him off guard, “oh. I am– feeling better than a few hours ago,” he picks up his coffee and the box of scones. Not a bribery, but a peace offering. “It’s been quite the change, but I’ll adjust.”

 

“I wish there was more I could– _wait,”_ her eyes widen behind her glasses, and she goes from frustration to excitement to sadness in surprisingly quick succession. “Where are you going to live?”

 

_“Well,”_ he draws out the word, stalling. Either at Alex’s or in a hotel room– all he needs is to choose which. Kara is still looking at him expectantly, and should he make a run for the door? No, she’d catch up. But it’s fine, he’d have to choose anyway before meeting with Alex or Lena.

 

“Oh no,” she eventually interjects, shoulders drooping and eyes going wide and sad at the edges. Sad puppy eyes, Alex had called. “I dunno why I asked, nevermind that. I have a spare bedroom, you should come live with me– _it’ll be great!_ I’m a great roommate, you’ll see. We can have movie nights! And Taco Tuesdays! It’ll be awesome. What do you say?”

 

Querl has faced dozens of most dangerous criminals before, both with the legion and here in the 21st Century, but saying _no_ when Kara Danvers is smiling brighter than any sun and looking so _happy_ with her idea– it’s positively _impossible._ So he says, “it would be my honor,” and hurries out of the coffee shop before someone else can come along and offer him someplace to sleep.

 

He never thought _that_ would be a problem before.

 

“Cool,” she calls, still grinning, “just come by later and we’ll work out the details!”

 

This is not good.

 

*

 

“And then I did not know how to tell the truth to any of you,” he finishes explaining, “every simulation I ran, all the scenarios included at least one of you being upset, and I could not bring myself to _choose,_ so I decided the wisest course of action would be to wait until I had found the solution.”

 

“You managed to divide your time between here and both out places,” Alex raises her eyebrows, sounding a lot less angry than before. Almost impressed, the hopeful part of him would say. “For nearly two weeks?”

 

“Yes, it was easy. I checked in the hotel and then flew out of the balcony,” Querl tells her; honesty is the wisest thing to be right now. “You are almost never home so I usually go to Kara’s or tell her I’m spending the night at your place. She never questions it or the lack of luggage.”

 

Both Alex and Lena turn to look at Kara, and she shrugs, “what? I just figured, I don’t know! 31st technology or something, like shrinking things or, or, like Barry’s ring? That stores his suit? It’s not _that_ impossible!”

 

“You need to stop watching so much science fiction,” Alex scoffs, “and _you_ should have just told us the truth.”

 

“Yes, from the _beginning,”_ Lena sighs, uncrossing her arms, “we would have understood. You choosing only one out of our offers doesn’t mean a personal insult to the rest.”

 

“Yeah,” Kara nods emphatically, “it doesn’t mean you like us any more or less. It just means that Alex was faster, that sneaky cheater. Or that this room is like, _ridiculously_ nice. I mean– this bed? It’s like sitting on a _cloud.”_

 

“I apologize,” he hopes they can hear how much he means it, “it was not my intention to lie or cause any trouble. I, well. I am truly sorry.”

 

Lena shakes her head, “apology more than accepted, _but,”_ she pauses, “it makes no sense for you to keep going back and forth between our places anymore. You’ll have to choose.”

 

“Yeah,” Alex says, a grin slipping into her face, “it’s time. Choose.”

 

Before he could spiral into doubt again, Kara smiles knowingly, “why don’t we do this– you should stay with me, it makes more sense. Alex is there most nights anyway, and Lena is always stopping by. My place is basically our secret headquarters right now _and_ official hang out base.”

 

“That is– yes, it would make more sense,” he echoes. It does make sense, it’s the logical choice– it’s almost no choice at all, really. “Thank you.”

 

“Great,” her grin grows brightly, “now that _that’s_ settled, we should really order some room service, I’m _starving.”_

 

Yes, Querl thinks things just might be looking up after all.

 

 


	31. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - Accidental kiss and cute confession**

**and we were dancing like we're made of starlight**

 

Kara is buzzing with excitement.

 

It’s so rare that they get to go to a party just because, with no conspiracy threatening to blow anything up, she still can’t believe nothing is on fire yet. And that’s why they need to go as soon as possible before something has the chance to go wrong.

 

“Come _on,”_ she whines, fixing her hair for the ninth time in the mirror, _“Alex._ We’re going to be late!”

 

Her sister sighs, turning up the volume on the TV just to be contrary, “I know, you only mentioned that a thousand times.”

 

“Sorry,” she sits down beside her on the couch, careful not to wrinkle her dress. “I’m nervous, I guess.”

 

“I bet,” Alex snorts, checking the clock anyway. “But I told Brainy to meet us here instead. Besides, we still have twenty minutes to go, and I’m sure Lena would forgive you for being two seconds late.”

 

Well then. Kara gets up again, ducking in front of the mirror– just to, you know. It doesn’t hurt to check, okay? As if on cue, the doorbell rings, dragging Alex out of the couch while she nervously smooths out her dress. She hears Alex cough, clearly swallowing back a snort, _“oh, boy._ Okay, _Kara?”_

 

“Everything okay?” She hurries to the front door, finding her sister looking sadly at the poorly knotted tie on Brainy’s suit. Kara tries very hard to focus on that instead of the larger, screaming part of her brain looping on _Brainy in a suit._ Focus, right. “Oh, hey, Brainy, do you want me to fix this?”

 

He clears his throat, “Hello, Kara,” a tug on the tie and it comes loose easily, “yes, I think it would be best. I tried on the way but– it did not work as well as I hoped.”

 

She snickers a little, and Alex rolls her eyes. “You do that, I’ll get the car started.” Her heels clink against the building’s tiled floor as she goes for the elevator, and Kara can imagine the grimace on her face.

 

“Well, we better hurry,” Kara says, stepping closer to him and taking the tie out of his hands. It’s too close, she thinks, for it to be good for her sanity, and _maybe_ her fingers shake a little as she loops it around his neck, but a multitude of butterflies are fluttering their wings on her stomach, and it’s kind of exhilarating. “It’s a bit complicated in the beginning,” she continues, internally wincing at how loud her voice seems.

 

Brainy stays silent for another minute, and when he finally speaks, his words nearly cause her hands to slip, “you look lovely tonight,” and it kind of trails off, floating there in the space between them.

 

And Kara feels her cheeks warming, adjusts her glasses to stall, before composing herself enough to reply, “thank you, that’s– you look very nice too,” she looks up, catching sight of his smile and– he’s just so close and Kara is so far gone, she doesn’t even notice she’s moving until their lips are touching. It’s just as wonderful as she had imagined, but the last of her active brain cells kick manages to push through the white noise on her mind the very valid point of _what do you think you’re doing?_ And she pulls back, an apology already spilling from her behind her teeth, “I’m sorry, _oh my god,_ I’m so sorry– I didn’t mean to–”

 

“You didn’t?”

 

“What?” Her train of thoughts that had been careening into a wreck screeches to a stop. Brainy is staring wide-eyed at her, his hands at her waist, and he doesn’t look angry, or offended, or disgusted. He looks– she wants to say _hopeful,_ but she’s biased and so full of wishful thinking.

 

“Did you not mean to kiss me?” He asks after a few seconds of Kara staring blankly back at him, and this time. It can’t be all in her head. She can’t possibly be imagining the waver on his voice or the wild beat of his heart under her palm.

 

So, with the butterflies and the tingling on her lips and the fire spreading on her veins, she takes her leap of faith. “It’s not that I didn’t mean to kiss you,” she rushes out, “it’s just that I didn’t mean to kiss you _right now._ I was hoping I would tell you first that I’m, that I have been for a while, maybe, a bit in love with you? That’s not a question, I don’t know why I said it like that, it’s a fact, okay, I’m one hundred percent sure– the sun is hot, the sky is blue, and I’m in love with you. _Ugh,_ I’m really messing this up, aren’t I? I should just start again from the beginning– ”

 

She never gets the chance to. Brainy kisses her and Kara forgets what she had been about to say. It’s okay, though. She can’t think of anything more important than this, anyway. She can’t think of anything at all.


	32. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Hello, love 🤗 Karadox "I can't help falling in love with you" Please? 😊 ❤❤❤**

**take my hand, and my whole life too**

 

Kara wakes up with a light heart.

 

The bedsheets feel soft against her skin, just like the morning light looks soft spilling through the curtains. The early hours isn’t exactly a time she  _ likes  _ to be awake, but something about today makes it okay. Maybe, it’s the warmth that still lingers on the other side of the mattress, maybe it’s the jacket lying on the chair by her desk.

 

Or, perhaps, it’s the door left ajar, allowing the smell of fresh bacon to drift in.

 

_ That  _ wakes her up alright.

 

She tiptoes to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to take in the sight. Brainy, struggling with the frying pan, smoke rising up to the ceiling, the coffee maker filled to the brim, the table already set. Kara feels her heart climbing up her ribcage to carve itself a place on her throat. Everything is so wonderfully domestic, she’s afraid breathing too deep might break it like a spell.

 

“Oh, no,” Brainy spots her leaning against the counter, and his smile, too, is soft, even as he turns off the stove with a despondent sigh, “you were supposed to still be asleep. I wanted to make you breakfast– but I’m afraid it’s not going very well.”

 

Unable to come up with words, Kara closes the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him softly. She pulls back a little, smiling, “it’s perfect,” she whispers, “thank you.”

 

“I know it’s considered too soon to say this,” he hesitates, his hands on her waist pulling her close, “but I can’t help falling in love with you. _ I love you, Kara Danvers.” _

 

Fireworks burst into her heart and flowers are growing in her lungs, and Kara didn’t know she wished to hear these words so much until Brainy let them out in the open. The butterflies have escaped and she has no intention of collecting them back. “Screw ‘too soon’,” she tells him fiercely, “I love you, too.”

 

The bacon may be a little burnt, and the coffee is a little too strong, but when Kara offers her hand, Brainy takes it, and just for that, the world is a better place.


	33. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - You deserve so much better**

 

**settle down, it'll all be clear**

 

As soon as she opens the door, Kara knows.

 

“Come here,” she says, gathering Brainy into a hug. There’s a bag at his feet and a haunted look on his eyes, and Kara has never been so angry at anyone like she is now. If Colonel Haley wants to use Supergirl as some sort of example,  _ fine.  _ That’s fair game, Kara’s seen worst from worse people. But going after Brainy? This witch hunt needs to stop and it needs to stop  _ now.  _ “Let’s get you inside,” she guides him into her apartment, to her couch, locking the door behind her. “I can’t believe she fired you too.”

 

“It was only a matter of time,” he shrugs, dropping his bag by the couch. His voice is light, nonchalant, but Kara knows better– knows  _ him  _ better. She sees the tension on his shoulders, the twitch of his hands, the caged expression on his face. This is far from fine. “In fact, it took longer than I anticipated. I suppose she wanted to finish all my tasks first.”

 

“That’s not fair– none of this is fair,” Kara shakes her head, sitting down beside him and tugging him to lean on her, rest his head on her shoulder, and he goes easily, “you deserve so much better. We’ll figure this out.  _ I promise.” _

 

“I know,” Brainy sighs, presses a soft kiss to her neck. Kara wraps an arm around him, hoping her presence can be enough comfort while they wait for a chance to fight back. “Alex said the same thing. We will find a way to fix all this,” and he sounds so sure, it makes her heart clench painfully. She hopes, above all, she can keep this promise. “But for now, I hate to ask you this, but without the DEO–”

 

“Of course you can stay here,” she says, holding him closer, “it’ll be no trouble at all. You can stay for as long as you want.” Kara leans down to kiss him, smiling, “today, tomorrow, two weeks, two months–  _ forever.” _

 

It brings a smile out of him, and Kara counts it as a valiant victory. Brainy seems calmer now, eyes clear, and when he speaks, his voice doesn’t waver, “I think I quite like the sound of that.”

 

“See,” Kara laughs, falling down on the couch and pulling him with her, “silver linings, after all.”

 

He agrees with her, she thinks, but she doesn’t get much time to wonder, because then he is kissing her and Kara is thoroughly distracted all afternoon long.

 


	34. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy getting corrupted somehow (basically his own version of Red Kryptonite) and Kara having to take him down**

**there's a bad moon on the rise**

The funny thing is– 

 

*

 

“Kara, you have to do it,” Alex takes her aside, away from the other agents’ prying eyes. She wipes a tear with her sleeve, ignoring the way it smudges black from the soot. “There’s no other way. We– if there were–  _ I’m sorry.” _

 

“I know. Alex,  _ I know,  _ but I can’t. You can’t ask me to do this,” she shakes her head frantically as if that would make any of this go away. If only– no. There’s no making it better. “There has to be another way, I can’t just– just  _ kill  _ him!”

 

“We can let him do this either,” Alex sighs, pulling her into a hug, “I know this is a terrible situation, and I hate it too. But don’t you think it’s what he would have wanted? The Brainy I know, the  _ real  _ Brainy, would never forgive himself for hurting all these people.”

 

“Alex, I  _ can’t–  _ I know you’re right, but. How can I?  _ I love him,”  _ Kara shuts her eyes, willing the words to stop echoing on her mind so much. She’s already hurting all over, a deep kind of ache that spreads like wildfire on her veins, she doesn’t need to keep burying the knife over and over. “Promise me– promise me you’ll keep looking. Until the end, you’ll keep looking for another way?”

 

“I promise,” her sister nods, and the stubborn look on her eyes is enough to make Kara believe her. “Lena is down in the labs right now, she hasn’t stopped working ever since she arrived. If anyone can find a way out, it’s her.”

 

Kara smiles sadly, “I know. We have to keep hoping, right?”

 

*

 

The funny thing is, they don’t even notice at first.

 

*

 

_ “Supergirl,”  _ Alex’s voice rings through the comm. She barks her name, sharp-edged and drawing blood with each vowel. They both know what the next words are gonna be.  _ “You have to do it now. He’s connected to the mainframe of the building, it’s our only shot.” _

 

Kara is so tired, she just wants this to be over. No, that’s not true. She just wants things to go back to normal before all this begun, before Brainy got infected and slowly went crazy. Before a time where her sister has to put up a  _ shoot on sight  _ alert on his name because he’s too dangerous for her agents to subdue.

 

_ “Kara, there’s no more time,”  _ Alex continues, softer,  _ “you have to install the malware. You have to stop him.” _

 

“I don’t know if I can,” Kara confesses, hand hovering over the computer, pen drive clutched so tightly on her fist, she’s half-afraid it might crack. She’s half-hoping it will. 

 

_ “You have to. Do it because you love him, because you know he would never want any of this.” _

 

And he wouldn’t. Brainy would be horrified if he saw all the damage, the body count– he would never forgive himself. But Kara– she’s  _ Supergirl.  _ She doesn’t kill, she’s a symbol of  _ hope,  _ of second chances, of salvation. How can she break her rule now?

 

_ “I am so sorry, Kara,”  _ Alex says, and the waver on her voice– she’s crying.  _ “But we’re all out of options.” _

 

“You should have listened to her,” his voice is different while staying the same. There’s a coldness, a detachment from everything, a cruel indifference lining the words that have never been there before. It sends a chill down her spine. “It  _ was  _ your only shot.”

 

She thought she had been ready to face him again, but with the red light blinking from his implants, the sickly paleness of his blue skin– she had been wrong.

 

*

 

The funny thing is, they don’t even notice at first.

 

When he speaks of looking into old case files, Kara brushes it off unconcernedly, finds his curiosity endearing. And when he mentions Fort Rozz, she shrugs with the unpreoccupied ease of a case closed so long ago.

 

She never thinks of Indigo.

 

It never crosses her mind she might have left something behind.

 

Something fundamental shifts, but the world keeps spinning.

 

*

 

“Please,” Kara begs, she’s not ashamed of it, “don’t make me do this. I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

“Silly girl, as if you  _ could,”  _ Brainy– not Brainy. The sickness, the virus poisoning his brain, laughs. Once, Kara read about a type of fungi that infected ants and took control of their bodies. She thinks it must look a lot like this. “Besides, you are weak. You are attached, you could never bring yourself to hurt me.”

 

“Brainy,” she calls, hoping her voice might reach him. He wasn’t wrong, she can’t bring herself to give up on him. “I know you’re still in there. I’m trying to save you, but I need you to help me.  _ Come back.  _ We can fix this, I promise. It’ll be okay.”

 

“There is nothing left for you to save,” he tells her, casually cruel, and leans closer into her space. It’s meant to be threatening, and it kind of is, or, it would be if it weren’t his first mistake.

 

Back when she had been in college, a hopeful, optimistic freshman with dreams of changing the world in ways that didn’t involve flying in a cape, Alex had sat her down on their old couch in Midvale. She had warned Kara about frat boys and statistics and how she might be an alien, but she should leave her powers as a last resort only. So Alex had dropped a can of pepper spray on her lap and handed her a taser.

 

Now, Kara turns it to the highest setting and stabs it to his side.

 

She watches as the electricity short circuits his implants, watches as he falls to the floor, still writhing with the aftershocks. And she tells herself it’s the kinder option.

 

*

 

The funny thing is, they don’t even notice at first.

 

A harsh word, an argument that spirals out of control, a reckless decision. They excuse it away because  _ come on, everyone has bad days, right? _

 

Kara blames herself, in the  _ I should have known  _ kind of way, but the excuses fall so easily from her lips– 

 

Until Brainy  _ snaps. _

 

*

 

“Supergirl, what did you do?” Alex demands as she carries him into the DEO, on her way down to the labs, “what’s going on?”

 

“I can’t do it, Alex,” Kara doesn’t stop, only keeps walking out of courtesy to her sister, “we’re not killing him. We’ll have to find another way–  _ Lena!” _

 

“Supergirl? Is that–” To her credit, Lena Luthor only needs one look to bite back any questions, hurrying to clean out one of the metal tables, papers and test tubes and pens falling to the floor. “I don’t know how to bring him back,” she says, “but I'm assuming you have something in mind?”

 

“Yeah. I mean, no, not really,” Kara pauses, getting herself together. She lays him down on the table, aching at how peaceful he looks without those dreadful red lights. It’s almost– almost as if it never happened. “I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I thought, maybe if we had more time then you could, I don’t know. Maybe all we need is a little more time.”

 

“Supergirl,” Alex finally catches up, wrapping an arm around Kara’s shoulder, “there might not be a cure.”

 

“Maybe. But we fixed  _ me  _ when I got poisoned with red kryptonite. You never gave up on me. I can’t give up on him either,” she tells the room, a dangerously clear  _ back off  _ in her voice. “Lena, do you think you can replicate the cryo-sleep from the Legion’s Cruiser? I’m sure Winn had been studying it before he left–”

 

“Yeah, I can look into it, but if he left his notes then it shouldn’t be too hard. L-Corp has already been developing something similar,” she trails off, rushing for her computer, distracted with new ideas to consider.

 

“Then, if he’s asleep, he can’t hurt anyone. I know it doesn’t fix anything, but it buys us time,” Kara looks down at Brainy, at the singed mark on his uniform where her taser had hit him. “Time to find another way. Maybe– when Winn comes back, he was the one that wrote the malware you wanted to use, between him and Lena, there’s  _ no way _ they won’t figure something out.”

 

Alex sighs, exhaling the weight of the world from her shoulders. “I hope you’re right,” she shakes her head, eyeing the prone figure that once upon a time used to be Brainy with wary eyes. “I really hope you’re right.”

 

And as Kara looks on, standing a silent vigil, she agrees with her sister. The choice she made today might cost people’s lives if they fail, but Kara is selfishly in love and Supergirl doesn’t kill.

 

So instead, she  _ hopes. _

 


	35. Alex Danvers & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy and Alex getting into an argument, before Brainy's fully corrupted?**

**I see a bad moon a-rising, I see trouble on the way**

 

“I want this processed and analyzed as soon as possible,” Alex tells the agent looking dubiously down at the device. It’s definitely alien, and it’s  _ maybe  _ some sort of hard drive, but if this guy is going to keep staring at it as if it would bite him, then they’ll never know. “Take it to Agent Dox, he’ll know what to do.”

 

Agent– she squints to read the nametag– Jones fidgets. He clears his throat, growing uncomfortable by the minute, “no one has seen Agent Dox this morning, Director.”

 

“What?”

 

“It seems he hasn’t reported for duty today,” he continues, hesitating, eyes flickering nervously around. “Director, if I may, some of the other agents have been a little…  _ concerned  _ about him.”

 

That picks up her attention. “How so?”

 

“Well,” Jones licks his lips, lowering his voice, “there have been a few incidents. With Agent Dox yelling at us. And maybe throwing things.”

 

Alex frowns. That doesn’t sound like Brainy. Sure, he can be too blunt or even rude sometimes, and he does like to have his space to work, but  _ this?  _ “Are you sure about this, Agent Jones?”

 

It’s not the right thing to say, he immediately shuts down, stammering an apology and scurrying away, the possible hard drive left on the table. It seems Alex will have to take care of this herself.

 

*

 

She knocks on the glass door first, “Brainy?”

 

He has his back to her, hunched over a microscope, and  _ holy shit,  _ she’s never seen his lab look so… messy. There are papers lying around, test tubes knocked over tables and dripping down to the floor, machines hooked up on machines beeping every other second. 

 

_ This is bad. _

 

“Brainy?” Alex asks again, raising her voice, and this time he whirls around and– it’s just a trick of the light. He looks startled to see her there, pushing the microscope away as she enters his lab, “is everything okay?”

 

“Yes, Director,” he says, sitting up on the stool. The surrounding chaos doesn’t seem to bother him, in fact, he barely seems to notice it. And that’s–  _ look,  _ Alex’s seen his lab before, she’s visited it countless times to drag him back in time for lunch or dinner, and it’s always,  _ always,  _ been pristine. “Everything is in order.”

 

“If you say so. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Or Kara, if you’d prefer. Even Lena would be more than happy to listen.” She shoves a bunch of papers to the floor, clearing up a stool for herself, waits for him to nod before continuing, “good. That being said, why are you here? You’re late for work.”

 

This earns a little more than a twitch. “I am busy at the moment,” he makes a sweeping gesture to his working table.

 

“I can see that, yes, but we,  _ you,  _ also have a job to do. One you’re late for.” Alex isn’t here to fight, she’s not here to punish, she wants to understand, that’s all. But his arrogant scoff at her words, it’s really making her blood boil. “So, whatever personal project you have going here, you can work on your personal hours. Right now, I need you to come with me and look into the device we found downtown.”

 

“I said,” Brainy speaks with an unshakable calm, already turning back to what he had been doing before. “I am busy. This cannot wait. I’ll be with the humans after I’m done.”

 

“I’m sorry, did you think I was  _ asking?”  _ Alex marches to his stool, shoving the microscope away herself. Brainy looks up startled, the first real emotion he’s showed since she’s arrived. Surprise quickly turns into an offended expression, angry, but she stands her ground, staring him down, “I am your superior officer. Get your ass to the command center,  _ right now, Agent Dox and that’s an order.” _

 

Brainy watches her for a long moment, and it’s like a spell breaking. His anger disperses like fog from his eyes, and he blinks, frowning at his surroundings before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I do not know– I apologize, Director Danvers. I’ll get to it immediately.”

 

His stool screeches on the tiled floor, grating on both of their nerves. Still, Brainy stops at the door, briefly turning back, “Alex, I– nevermind. I  _ am  _ sorry.”

 

She nods, watching him leave, and her skin crawls with the wrongness of everything, worry festering on her guts. The fighting, the yelling, the mess, the cold arrogance– this is not like Brainy at all, not really. And for a moment there, when he first turned around, she could swear his forehead had blinked red. Alex shudders, shaking herself. With everything that happened with Agent of Liberty and Colonel Haley, she can’t blame him for being stressed out.

 

God knows she could use a nap too if she’s seeing things now.


	36. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: ooh, Kara ultimately helping corrupted-Brainy by going into his mind prison?**

**don't go 'round tonight, it's bound to take your life**

 

Kara wakes up standing in a hallway.

 

It has the same clean, futuristic style of the Legion Cruiser, and she is hit with the sudden certainty that _ yes, this is what the Legion Headquarter looks like in the 31st century _ . The door in front of her has no visible doorknob for her to turn, only a biometric lock blinking back at her, so she does what people do no matter the century, she knocks.

 

The hall is empty, stretching in both directions before turning a corner, and eerily silent; a potted plant is at her right, every leaf deathly still– no windows in sight to let any breeze in. Kara still pulls her cape closer, her skin crawling uncomfortably with the awful feeling of being watched. Did Brainy feel like this when he ventured inside her mind?

 

A rustling noise echoes faintly from her left, and Kara whirls in that direction. She thinks she might have seen a shadow skittering back over the corner, but it’s too quick even for her eyes to properly catch, although she could swear– 

 

“Kara?” His voice snaps her back and–  _ Rao,  _ he looks and sounds and moves like Brainy again, the circles on his forehead blinking blue, skin no longer a sickly, haunted pale. Kara might be tearing up a little with relief, throwing her arms around him and holding on to him for dear life. Brainy hugs her back, just as tightly, uncaring if her tears grow a wet patch on his shirt. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

 

“You’re  _ you  _ here,” she sniffs, laughing a little without any real humor and refusing to pull back, “I’ve missed you so much and I was so worried, everyone was telling me you were gone and how there wasn’t anything more we could do, but I knew you were still here, somewhere.”

 

He guides her inside, and she hears the door locking behind them, and the shift in the atmosphere is glaringly noticeable. Here, with a wall between them and whatever had been prowling on that hallway, she feels safe. “What are you talking about?” He asks, pulling away to look into her eyes, a worried frown knitting his brow, “I have been here this whole time, working on…” his frown deepens, and he gestures a device riddled with colorful wires sitting on his table, “working.”

 

_ Oh no.  _ Lena had warned her this might have happened. Kara sits him down in one of the stools, settling in the one beside him, gently taking his hands, “Brainy, none of this is real. We’re on your mind.”

 

“What? No, that’s impossible. I would’ve noticed,” he shakes his head emphatically, “it can’t be.  _ I would have noticed it.” _

 

“How long have you been here, then? What are your working on?” She pushes as kindly as she can manage, voice soft with her sadness. “And how can you be  _ here  _ and not at the DEO? How could  _ I  _ be here?”

 

This lab is nothing like the ones at the DEO, with its pristine white walls and high ceiling, there are too many bookshelves with perfectly cataloged books and machines that haven’t been invented yet, too clean, too perfectly organized, too many cupboards filled with too many chemicals. And she sees in the way Brainy looks around, eyes widening and clearing out, that he too knows. There’s no mistaking this for anywhere in the 21st Century. His gaze falls back on her. And there’s no Kara Danvers in the 31st Century. “How can it be– I don’t understand. How  _ are  _ you here, then?”

 

“We’ve put you back in cryosleep, it’s been months now. Something happened,” Kara falters, pausing to gather the courage to tell him the truth.  _ The truth will set you free,  _ right? Even if it hurts a whole lot first? “You were looking into the Fort Rozz files and Indigo– we think she left some sort of virus, somehow it slipped into our servers and stayed there, dormant until–”

 

“I accidentally triggered it,” Brainy finishes, a somber expression on his face that makes Kara wish she could punch Indigo again. “Did it shut down my body? Is that why I’m asleep?”

 

“Yes, and no,” she sighs, remembering the weight of the pen drive on her hands that day and how much heavier than the taser it had felt. As heavy as the world. “It did infect you. But it– it took over. You weren’t  _ you  _ anymore, and I– I had no choice, it was using you to do… bad things. I had to knock you out, I couldn’t let it use you like that! So we put you under to buy us a little more time, just until we could figure out a way to cure you.”

 

Brainy stares down at his hands, a blank, hollowed out look on his eyes, and Kara carefully cradles his face, lifting up his gaze so he only sees her, instead of whatever blood his imagining dripping over his fingers. “I don’t remember, the things you say I did–  _ I don’t even remember.  _ I should– they were right, I’m too dangerous–”

 

_ “No!”  _ Kara interrupts him before he spirals too low down a rabbit hole she has no time to follow,  “it wasn’t you. You didn’t  _ choose  _ to hurt anyone. You need to know this. This is not your fault. I don’t have– I can’t stay too long. The last time we tried this, we caused a citywide blackout; Lena gave me ten minutes if we’re lucky–” 

 

“How  _ are  _ we here? Cryotechnology isn’t supposed to be invented in another three decades, and the technology to connect our minds shouldn’t exist in this century at all.”

 

Thankfully bringing this up helps distract him from his guilt, and Kara smiles for the first time in what feels like years, “why are you so surprised? There isn’t much Lena Luthor can’t do when she sets her mind to it.” Her grin softens, as it so often does near him, “besides, she had very good reasons to rush the process. But it’s not nearly as good as the stuff on the Cruiser, it’s using up too much energy. We– you need to wake up soon.”

 

Something scratches at the door–  _ no,  _ not scratching, it’s a scraping sound that grows all around them, coming from the walls, the ceiling, the tiled floor. Kara feels unease building in the pit of her stomach again, nothing like this happened when they had been on her mind. She watches as Brainy frowns, walking along the walls until he finds a button near the door. 

 

A panel slides open, revealing a large glass window looking out to the hallway, and–

 

Here’s the thing, when they had been on her mind, Kara had been in a coma. She wasn’t infected with a maliciously hungry virus.

 

Dozens of bugs crawl on the glass, skittering in and out of view, electronic eyes blinking red and their spindly legs tapping and scraping with a screeching metallic note.

 

“Oh my god,” Kara breathes, skin itching with the phantom feeling of insects walking all over her. “This can’t be good.”

 

“It’s the virus,” Brainy says, hiding the window away again. He stumbles back, almost knocking over a test tube on the way. “They realized I’m aware this is an illusion and are trying to get in. If they do–”

 

Kara swallows thickly, a sharp pain on her forehead telling her time is running out. She shakes her head, standing up and speaking with all the certainty she holds in her heart, “they won’t. Now you know this isn’t real, you can fight them. Come on, this is  _ your  _ mind, you have the advantage. I know you, Querl Dox. I know you are stronger than any virus.  _ You have to wake up. _ ”

 

She kisses him, even as she feels this reality dissolving under her fingertips and darkness closing in, pulling her down like quicksand. “See you on the other side,” she whispers with a smile before pain bursts behind her eyes and she slips away from his mind.


	37. Winn Schott, Jr/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy being a little bit in awe of/afraid of Winn, at first, because of what Winn did to Indigo**

 

**everybody talks, everybody talks, too much**

 

Of course Winn notices.

 

Brainy would not know the meaning of subtlety if it came around to slap him in the face, so of course he notices. The avoiding, the staring, the whispering with Mon-El– who, by the way, is no help at all, okay? Winn’s tried to pry it out of him so many times now, he’s lost count. He tried to bribe him with booze, tried to bribe him with chicken wings that Imra loves, tried to bribe him with Bon Jovi CDs. There’s nothing left for him to offer as bribery! When did Mon-El become the kind of person who doesn’t take bribes from friends?

 

Unbelievable.

 

Anyway. The point is: it’s driving him up the wall because Winn can’t figure out  _ why.  _

 

And the worst part is. Kara and Alex don’t believe him.  _ He’s a little odd, is all,  _ they say.  _ Don’t take it personally,  _ they say. Yeah, well. Winn is taking this personally alright. No one has never taken anything more personally than Winn is taking this, okay. He’ll show them  _ don’t take it personally. _

 

It makes sense, don’t think too much.

 

So, the next time Winn sees Brainy spot him walking down the hallway and then promptly turn around, he’s had enough. “Oh no, you don’t,” Winn increases his pace, catching up with him before the next corner, and takes him by the arm, shuffling them both into the first unlocked door he finds, “we need to talk, come on.”

 

Fine, he’ll be the first to admit he’s approaching tactic was not the smoothest, but give him a break here, he’s making this up as he goes. Besides, there’s nothing smooth about their interactions. Which is why Winn’s not the little bit surprised when Brainy’s first response is, “there’s nothing we need to talk about.” Also, not suspicious.  _ At all.  _

 

“Defensive much?” He crosses his arms over his chest, ignoring the sharp pain when his elbow collides with the wall. So, turns out the first unlocked door led into a broom closet, but that’s fine. It’s fine. Who needs personal space anyway. Winn soldiers on. “We do too need to talk. Why are you avoiding me?”

 

“I’m not avoiding you.”

 

“Dude. Denying everything I say doesn’t make it any less true, I literally just watched you turn around when you saw me, like, less than ten seconds ago. There’s no recovering from that, alright?”

 

Brainy sighs, leaning back on the wall and allowing another inch between them. This was not Winn’s smartest plan, but in his defense, even the best-laid plans go to waste, so. Winging it has always been his thing, right? But watching Brainy fidget in the confined space, the ceiling less than a foot above their heads, Winn feels doubt begin to creep in. “I apologize, you are right. I have been avoiding you.”

 

“And staring. Don’t forget the staring. That’s a thing that happened and I feel we should address.” He can’t help adding. His brain-to-mouth filter has never worked quite right, always two seconds too slow, but today–  _ oh boy,  _ is it doing its damn best not to work. 

 

“Right. And staring,” Brainy sigh again, wary and– something. Winn can’t pin a name to it yet, but there’s the same  _ something  _ on his voice when he speaks, “I have been looking into old cases concerning Fort Rozz after Supergirl and Imra visited it, searching for something on the Kryptonian priestess.”

 

“Okay,” Winn says slowly, failing to see a connection. “And?”

 

Brainy rolls his eyes, huffing his  _ I am already dumbing this down, why can’t you follow?  _ huff. There are a lot of different huffs, Winn has them categorized. Because he likes making lists. Again, it makes sense, don’t think too much. By far, this is the most infuriating of the huffs. “ _ And  _ I know about Brainiac-8.”

 

_ Oh.  _ “Indigo?”

 

“Yes, I believe that is what she called herself.”

 

“Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Cool, cool, cool,” Winn tries to avoid his eyes, but there aren’t many places to look around, so he ends up staring down at a moldy patch on the wall opposite him. “Sorry? I mean, I’m not sorry I stopped her, she was crazy evil– sorry! I’ll start again. Sorry I had to kill your… cousin? Sister? Relative. Your relative. But– in my defense, she tried to kill me first. And launch a nuclear missile. But my neck got bruises for  _ weeks,  _ okay, and not the fun kind!”

 

“No, you misunderstand,” Brainy frowns, thankfully deciding not to dissect his rambling, and Winn could swear there’s a color to his cheeks, but it’s too dark to see. It must be a trick of the low light. “I have no sympathy left for my ancestors who decided to misuse their powers, Indigo needed to be stopped. I knew Brainiac-8 had been sent to Fort Rozz and considered deceased after the prison crashed on Earth, but I had no idea it was you who had killed her. That is, until a few weeks ago.”

 

“So let me get this straight, you’re not mad?”

 

“Not at all,” he clears his throat, “in fact, I find it  _ impressive.  _ That  _ you  _ could defeat a superior being like her. It is unheard of, or at least, as far as I know.”

 

Winn blinks, taken off guard. This is very different from what he had been expecting. Good different, he thinks, grinning delightedly. “You know what, I’ll take it– that was a compliment.  _ Thank you.”  _ Then, he pauses, “wait. Is  _ that  _ why you’ve been acting weird all this time?”

 

“Perhaps,” Brainy is the one avoiding eye contact now, gaze searching for something to land on. Winn guesses on a moldy patch of  _ his  _ side of the closet. There is a  _ lot  _ of mold in here, he’s not sure they should be breathing this air. “I wasn’t sure how to proceed, but Mon-El said I should just talk to you. He was not very helpful.”

 

_ “I know right!  _ No, wait, hang on. You  _ could  _ have just talked to me. Actually, the problem is to make you  _ stop  _ talking things to me.”

 

“Again, I apologize. I suppose I just needed a little adjustment time, there is more to you than I previously thought. Better things than I first saw.” Brainy sounds honest, sounds like he means it, sounds almost surprised with his own confession. “I would like to learn more about the malware you used against Indigo, if you are willing to tell me?”

 

If anyone asks later, Winn will blame the mold for his next words, and for the way they sound in the tiny space between them. “Yeah, I think I’d like that too.” He grins wider, “that was like, two compliments in one day. Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

Brainy sighs. “Don’t make me regret it already.”

 

“Nope,” he laughs, weirdly smug, giddy, over it, “you said it now, no take-backsies!”

 

Before any answer could come forth, the door falls open, too bright light spilling into their closet. Winn raises an arm over his eyes, grimacing when he hears Alex’s disbelieving snort. “Seriously, guys? Here?”

 

“This is not what it looks like,” Winn tries, groaning when he hears his own words, “there  _ is  _ an explanation, I swear!”

 

Now that his eyes are adjusting to the light, he can see Alex standing on the doorway, watching them amusedly. “Hey, I’m not judging– a lot of things make sense now. I’m just saying, awfully cliche of you.”

 

“No, Alex–  _ wait! Come back! Let me explain!”  _ Winn calls after her, but the laughter echoing back is his only reply.  _ Great.  _ Now the entire DEO will think– 

 

He leans back, closes his eyes, head hitting the wall with a dull thud.

 

Then–

 

“ _Oh, Mon-El, Imra– why are you laughing?”_

 

Winn sighs. It had to be a broom closet. Best laid plans indeed.

  
  



	38. Alex Danvers & Winn Schott; Winn Schott/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Alex thinking that Brainy and Winn are dating, after she finds them in that closet, and Winn playing along**

**it started with a whisper**

 

Every once in a while, Winn finds himself in situations he has no idea how to get out of. Or how he got himself  _ in.  _

 

Although to be fair, he can see how this one might have started.

 

With that goddamn broom closet.

 

“No, I’m serious,” Alex tells him for the tenth time, “it’s  _ fine.  _ As long as both of you report to HR, it’s fine. A bit of paperwork, a few seminars, that’s it.”

 

This has been going on for the entirety of lunch, Winn just wants to maybe collapse on the table and sob. Alex is determined to show how supportive she is of this relationship, and man. Kara hasn’t even heard of it yet. He’s exhausted just thinking of her reaction.

 

“Honestly,” she chews on her burrito. The trailer a few blocks down the DEO has always been kinda shady, as in  _ look out for a stomach bug in the next few days  _ shady, but Winn has to admit they have the best Mexican food in a four miles radio. “I’m not even surprised about it. All your pestering about him makes a lot more sense now.”

 

Winn sighs. 

 

“And all the pigtail pulling, too.” 

 

He had tried telling her– and Mon-El and Imra and so many other agents– that it’s just a misunderstanding, that  _ yes, they were together on that broom closet,  _ and  _ yes, he knows how it must look,  _ but did anyone listen? Of course not. The gossip is just too good to be dismissed. It probably doesn’t help that between the two of them, Winn and Brainy probably annoyed more than half of the agents at some point or other.

 

“But I’m glad you found each other,” Alex continues, face softer, “you deserve to be happy, you know? And I think you two could be good with each other, all things considered.”

 

And see, now, how can Winn tell her that  _ nope, still lonely  _ when he knows she worries about him because Alex always worries about everyone. She looks so happy for him and it’s so rare for Alex to look genuinely happy after Maggie left– Winn doesn’t have the heart to tell her the truth.

 

Besides, she wouldn’t have believed anyway.

 

“Yeah,” he says, finishing his own burrito. He thinks of the irritation of having everyone saying  _ about time  _ over and over to them like this was some sort of open secret only they were not aware of, thinks of the inches between them in that broom closet, thinks of his own constant complaining this past week– about Brainy, and Brainy’s behavior, and Brainy’s acting weird. Winn tosses the wrapping paper in a nearby trashcan, glancing up at the clear, midday sky. “I think so too.”


	39. Brainy/Winn Schott, Jr; Kara Danvers & Winn Schott, Jr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: oh no, Kara catching Winn and Brainy in that broom closet instead of Alex 

**but baby, all you’re giving me is fiction**

 

Brainy sighs. “Don’t make me regret it already.”

  
  
“Nope,” he laughs, inexplicably smug, giddy, over it, “you said it now, no take-backsies!”   
  


His laughter turns into giggles at Brainy’s disgruntled expression, not nearly as annoyed as it would have been a few weeks ago, almost fond.  _ Progress,  _ it’s what it is. But then, because life is never that easy, a few things happen in quick succession.

 

Winn trips on a discarded box on the floor, hitting the shelf behind him. A bottle of what he really hopes is just soap falls and Brainy surges forward to catch it, putting it back on its place, and Winn throws his hands up on reflex, holding him by the shoulders to stop him from losing his balance and toppling them both down.

 

And it would totally be fine, like, no big deal. Winn’s clumsy, yeah, everyone already knows that, except– the door swings open and bright light bursts into the small room.

 

_ “Oh my god,” _ Kara shrieks, slamming the door back closed and plunging them into darkness again. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know–  _ sorry!” _

 

A whole minute goes by with them standing stock still as it slowly sinks in how their situation might have looked like from an outside party. Winn still has his hands on Brainy’s shoulders, they’re very close, close enough that Winn could count his eyelashes if he wanted– which he doesn’t, of course– and Brainy has one arm braced against the shelf behind Winn’s head, who is still a little breathless from laughing, he might add.

 

Yeah, he can see how it was less of a  _ jump to conclusions _ thing and more of a  _ she took a step, and there conclusions were.  _

 

_ “Shit,”  _ he says, with feeling. They exchange a wide-eyed look, and Winn almost snorts at the plain confusion he finds there, clashing with his own horrified dawning realization. But it doesn’t matter, because the rumor mill is going to eat this up like candy, whether Brainy understands it or not.

 

Brainy frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but Winn doesn’t give him time, opening the door and stumbling out in the hallway. He blinks, eyes adjusting to the sudden light, and spots Kara waiting a few feet away, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Kara, wait!” Winn calls after her, rushing to catch up before she can spread the news. He begins straightening up his shirt, then realizes it probably will only make it worse, awkwardly dropping his arms. “That was not what it looked like,  _ I swear!” _

 

“No, no, it’s fine,  _ it’s fine,  _ of course it’s fine,” she says in a reassuring tone, laughing just a little bit on the side of hysterics, “it’s just–  _ again?  _ I mean, I should’ve known, you guys were in a  _ closet,  _ but I was distracted and Alex was in a hurry, so I didn’t think, I just opened the door and–  _ sorry.” _

 

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Brainy cuts in, appearing at his side. Winn refuses to look at him, awfully aware of every inch of space between them, every brush of elbows. “We had merely been talking.”

 

“We were also done talking,” Winn adds hastily, “we were about to leave, in fact. And let the record show, I did not know that was a broom closet when I pushed us in.”

 

“Oh,  _ oh,”  _ Kara looks between them, a lightbulb moment reflecting on her eyes, and she grins, leaning in conspiratorially, “I see. Just  _ talking.  _ Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you guys are  _ talking  _ now.”

 

Brainy squints, clearly confused by the whole conversation, “thank you?”

 

“No, no, I don’t think you understand–”

 

“Winn,  _ Winn,”  _ she gently stops his arms mid-gesticulation, smiling equally gently back at them, “it’s  _ fine.  _ I do get it, it’s good to keep something just for yourself, especially when it makes you happy. So, you don’t have to worry, my lips are sealed.”

 

And then, without waiting for a reply, Kara pulls them both into a hug, grinning excitedly, and leaves; a hurricane of motion disappearing just as suddenly as it came.

 

“Oh, boy,” Winn watches her bounding up the stairs with a sinking stomach.  _ Oh, boy.  _ “She definitely does  _ not  _ get it.”

 

“I admit I do not ‘get it’ either,” Brainy complains beside him, “is she happy because we are talking?”

 

Winn opens his mouth, thinks better of it. “No, you know what? I can’t do this now, I need a moment. And possibly an entire bottle of tequila,” he starts to leave, glancing once behind his shoulders. There’s a moment– no, there’s Brainy, standing in the middle of the hall, his eyebrows knitted while he considers the last few minutes, and the sunlight is illuminating his whole being in warm, bright light, and Winn wonders. It’s just a passing thought, fleeting, a dry leaf in the wind, but he wonders–  _ would it be so bad?  _ But then it’s over, chased away to the back of his mind.  _ Yeah, duh.  _ Winn waves him off, “ask Mon-El, he’ll explain to you.”

 

And so, he, too, leaves.

 


	40. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: #Kara/Brainy - I wanna be your favorite boy**

 

**keep this love in a photograph**

 

Kara is in a scrapbook phase. 

 

She blames all that happens last year, Winn being gone, Alex forgetting Supergirl, J’onn leaving the DEO. There were a lot of changes, and there were a lot of close calls, so now that the dust is finally settling down, she’s determined to hold on to all the good memories they made along the way– hence,  _ scrapbook. _

 

The picture on her hands is recent. It was taken on Karaoke night, after they all had taken turns at the mic and made fools of themselves on stage, laughing breathlessly under the cheap spotlight. In it, Winn and Brainy are arguing about something, Kara can’t remember what, only the syrupy happiness of watching them talk excitedly, with broad gestures and loose smiles, and sitting beside Winn, there’s James, glass raised mid-air and a fond look on his face as he, too, watches them.

 

It’s a good shot, and she places it carefully on the page, scribbling  _ my boys  _ underneath, a doodled heart at the end.

 

Closing the book, Kara leans back on the couch, sighing satisfied. Beside her, Brainy wraps one arm around her shoulder, letting her rest against him. Looking up at him, she catches the pensive expression on his face, “penny for your thoughts?”

 

He smiles, “nothing worth much more than that.” There’s a pause where he takes the scrapbook from her hands, putting it on the table, and settles more comfortable in the cushions with her. “But, if you must know, I was thinking I wish to be your  _ favorite  _ boy.”

 

Kara scoffs, “that’s easy,” she grins, kissing him quickly on the lips, “you already are.”

 

Tomorrow James will send her a few of his own photos from over the years, but for now, Kara is content to stay in and get a head start on making new memories.


	41. Kara Danvers & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: okay, trying to stop the angst for a little bit: Kara giving some kind of gift to Brainy?**

 

**jingle bell rocks**

 

“Here,” Kara says, setting down the perfectly wrapped box on his table. She grins excitedly, barely containing her giggles, “open it, open it, open it!”

 

Brainy gives her a confused look, gingerly drawing the box closer and unwrapping the neat bow on top. He places the decorations to the side, pulling open the lid, and his face goes neutral. “Thank you,” he says, laying the sweater on the table. “It’s– thank you.”

 

She snickers at his attempts of hiding his horror, “it’s an ugly Christmas sweater,” she unfolds it, displaying it in all its horrible, awful glory. The bright red clashes horribly with the green and white stripes both at the bottom and at the top of the sweater and at the sleeves, and the elves drawn on the front are just… something else. Across the chest,  _ Let’s get elfed up  _ stares cheerfully at them. “It’s  _ supposed  _ to be ugly, don’t worry.”

 

The breath of relief he lets out is audible, “but may I ask  _ why  _ is it purposefully unpleasant?”

 

“It’s tradition,” Kara shrugs, unbuttoning her coach to show him her own terrible Christmas sweater, “see? It’s for my party tonight– now we match!”

 

“In that case,” now, his smile is genuine. Genuinely beautiful, if you ask Kara. And he looks down at it, fingers carefully playing with the cloth, with something awfully like wonder. “Thank you, I will wear it tonight, then.”

 

The image of Brainy, perfectly composed Brainy, wearing the most adorably ugly Christmas sweater is just– Kara might have an aneurysm if she sees it in person. “We’re gonna have the worst sweaters ever, it’s going to be amazing,” she promises him, grinning mischievously and lighting up inside when he offers her a matching smile. “See you there?”

 

Brainy nods, hands closing over a fistful of fabric, “I cannot wait.”

  
  



	42. Alex Danvers & Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Brainy being mistakenly arrested, and Alex trying to get him out?**

**so, Annie are you okay?**

 

The door behind her closes with a heavy, dull thud and Alex had never noticed how loud it sounds in the silent room.

 

Her heart clenches with each step she takes; she’s walked this path countless times, back straight, head held high, storm on her eyes. It takes less than a minute to cross the space between the door and the containment cell, less than a minute and she’s faced with whatever criminal she’s here to interrogate.

 

Not this time, though.

 

This time her heart cracks when she finds her friend sitting behind the reinforced glass. Brainy isn’t wearing his image inducer, it was ripped from him at the time of the arrest, and he has his head on his hands, elbows propped on his knees. His hair falls on his face, hiding his eyes, and Alex is almost glad for it. She’s not sure she’s ready to face the helplessness there.

 

She knocks gently on the glass, “hey, how are you holding up?” and his head snaps up, dark shadows under his eyes. The bench his sitting on is also the closest thing to a bed, with a thin, ratty mattress; she can’t imagine he’s getting much sleep. 

 

“Alex,” Brainy blinks a few times, eyes adjusting to the light she’d turned on when she arrived, and she can see the quiet resignation there, a sort of sad patience. She looks away. “I am fine, it’s nothing I cannot deal with. How is everyone?”

 

“Worried about you,” she says, eyeing the dusty cell. Funny how these things never bothered her before. “Supergirl asked me to tell you she’s going to find a way to come see you soon, and so will J’onn. The Colonel is gatekeeping visiting hours right now, but we’ll figure something out.”

 

He nods, but his smile is all wrong and the only thing that reaches his eyes are the sadness bleeding there. Alex’s anger flares hot and wild, threatening to burn down the last of her self-control and allow her to march to the Colonel’s office and demand him to be released. The whole thing was so clearly a setup, and not even a very good one at that, but everyone had seen  _ alien  _ and  _ Brainiac  _ and leaped to the most convenient conclusion. But Brainy shakes his head, “that would be nice, as long as they are still safe. Inserting themselves in the investigation might not be a good decision.” He stands up, pacing on the small space, “and how  _ is  _ the investigation? Have they found any clue on the real criminal?”

 

Alex sighs, running a hand through her hair. “I’m doing the best I can to keep things fair, but it’s kind of an uphill battle. Everyone’s very…  _ set  _ on their beliefs,” then, lowering her voice and tilting away from the cameras, she whispers, “I think I might have a lead, Lena found something yesterday, Supergirl and I will check it out after work, and James and Nia are thinking of running an article, try to gain the public’s favor to demand a fair trial through the justice system if Colonel Haley forces me to drop the case.” She gives him her best supportive smile, one she hopes will convey more certainty than she feels. Kara should be the one here, she’s always been better at being relentlessly optimistic. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out.”

 

“I know you will, I never doubted that,” he says, leaning away from the glass, and his voice is so much fuller with belief than Alex’s, it hurts to listen. Brainy always believed in them all, probably more than she ever deserved. “I have faith truth will prevail.”

 

_ Ah, yes.  _ Truth, Justice, and the American Way. They sure missed the memo on that one. Alex sees out of the corner of her eye the camera move, focusing on them. Time’s up, then. “Just, hang in there, okay? You’ll be out of here in no time.”

 

“Thank you, Alex,” Brainy sits back down, making himself as comfortable as possible on the bench. When he speaks, his words are needled prickling at her skin. “Thanks for believing in me, thanks for everything.”

 

They can talk freely now, not with the camera tracking every movement, analyzing every word, every twitch, but Alex hears all the things in between the lines, nods with a choked up throat. “Don’t worry about it,” she knocks on the glass again in parting. She’s never been very good at goodbyes, but that’s fine because that’s not what this is, no. “See you soon.”

 

Alex doesn’t look back as she makes her way back to the command center and doesn’t flinch when the door slams closed. They have a lead, and they have a backup plan. They will find a way, and if they don’t, she’ll make one.


	43. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - I just wanted to let you know that I think you're beautiful ❤**

**and i hope you don't mind, that i put down in words**

 

It starts when Kara finds an unused stack of post-its, a leftover from her time as Cat Grant’s assistant. She stares at it with a nostalgic smile, allowing herself to miss that part of her life. It hadn’t always been the good old days, but it had been pretty nice.

 

The bright yellows papers stare back at her, and wouldn’t it be a shame to let it go to waste?

 

She grins, feeling mischievously excited, as an idea blooms on her mind.

 

*

 

_ life is always wonderful with you in it _

 

*

 

_ i love you more than pizza _

 

*

 

_ thinking about you <3 _

 

*

 

_ miss you :(  _

 

*

 

_ you’re so beautiful, sometimes i can’t believe you’re real _

 

_ * _

 

_ i love you!!!! _

 

_ * _

 

_ you’re home!!! <3 _

 

*

 

“Did you make these?” is the first thing Brainy asks when he finds her watching TV that night. He looks at her bewildered and with a faint blush, then back at the stack of yellow post-its on his hands. Kara grins, giggling, and nods. “Why?”

 

“Well,” she stands up, coming over to wrap her arms around his neck. Up close his blushing is even more adorable, and her heart swells with light. Her grin softens, turning thickly sweet like the syrupy feeling his presence always brings up on her chest. “I just wanted to let you know I think you’re beautiful and I love you  _ so much.” _

 

A matching smile appears on his lips, and his eyes warm with affection. “More than pizza?”

 

“It was a close call, but yes,” she says, managing to fake a serious expression for about a second before dissolving in giggles again.

 

“You should know then, that I love you more than pizza as well,” Brainy kisses her gently, tucking back a strand of hair that falls on her face after pulling back, “but how did you put all of these up today without anyone noticing?”

 

Kara shrugs with her best innocent face, “superspeed really comes in handy sometimes.”


	44. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt: Karadox - I wish we could stay like this forever**

**until the sky falls down on me**

 

The alarm clock rings obnoxiously loud and high-pitched in the silent apartment, and Kara wonders how come none of her glasses shatter in the long, long two minutes it lasts.

 

She groans, pulling the blanket over her head and sinking further into the warmth beside her. With the drowsiness of sleep stubbornly clinging to her body, she barely registers the arm wrapping around her waist or the kiss pressed to her forehead, but sighs contentedly at the feeling of  _ safe, warm, happy  _ that spreads over her ribcage. “Morning,” she murmurs, words muffled into his chest. Kara smiles, shuffling closer still, legs tangled under the soft blanket. 

 

“Good morning,” Brainy echoes back, beginning to card a hand through her hair and sounding more awake than humanly possible at such an early hour. Well. Alienly possible, she supposes. “We should get up if we don’t want to be late.”

 

“No,” she whines unashamedly, clinging tighter. Winter really means business outside, with temperatures dropping lower every day, but here, in this cocoon of blankets, it’s warm and soft and nice, and Kara shudders at the thought of braving the whipping winds howling downtown. “Don’t wanna leave. Let’s skip work today.”

 

“You know Alex would knock down your door,” he laughs quietly and she feels the rumbles on his chest, hears the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. “Do you wish to hear my solution to your dilemma?”

 

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” Kara tells him wistfully, then sighs, capitulating, “but fine. What do you suggest? ”

 

“Well, by my calculations and past experiences with your reluctance to get out of bed,” his words are light with humor, a side of Brainy that Kara is always grateful she gets to see. “I’d say breakfast in bed is the only solution. Pancakes, for the greater good.”

 

“I really don’t say enough how much I love you,” she wonders if he would be able to see the stars shining on her eyes. Her stomach wakes up with the idea of fresh pancakes, growling glaringly loud in the low volume of early mornings. 

 

“I see you agree with my idea, then,” Brainy sounds amused again, pulling back the covers to get up, leaving her side cold and a rush of winter air in.

 

Kara complains, wrapping the blanket over herself like a burrito, shrieking with laughter when he tugs the blanket away from her face. She can only imagine the state of her bedhair and the air is biting cold, but everything else falls away when he kisses the giggles off her lips.

  
  
  
  



	45. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompts: Karadox, "Can I kiss you right now?"/////Brainy and Kara - I want to protect you**

**come morning light, you and i'll be safe and sound**

 

Things are scary right now in a way Kara had never seen before. Sure, she had been scared before, back with Non, back with the Reign, but  _ this?  _

 

This is something else.

 

She thinks it might be the way the people themselves are turning against them; something about the disgusted hatred she’s seen not on Lockwood’s face, but in everyday, civilian people’s eyes that chilled her to the bone. Just thinking of that map lighting up with red blinking dots, soccer moms buying military guns, school teachers turning away alien kids, that horrible TV show– it makes her stomach roll and her skin crawl.

 

And they’re not even at the end yet, no. There’s a storm brewing and she feels the static building up, Kara knows it’s gonna get worse soon.

 

Great time to get fired, really. Just awesome.

 

“Is everything alright?” Brainy asks her, accepting the beer she hands him. They’re sitting on her couch, a mildly mannered standard made-for-TV movie playing in a low volume that neither of them is interested in. “I mean, all things considered.”

 

“No, yeah, it’s fine. Thanks for coming over,” Kara sighs, taking a swing of her own beer and half-wishing she could get drunk. Unemployment definitely warrants  _ at least  _ getting tipsy, right? “I just– it’s weird not being at the DEO. And you don’t have a phone! How am I gonna check on you?”

 

Brainy frowns, but she thinks it’s more out of confusion than distress. Kara likes to think she knows him enough to tell the difference by now. “Check on me?”

 

“Yeah, with all this stuff going on, I worry, you know?” She shifts on her seat, turning to look better at him, close enough that their knees touch and if she were to lean just a little–  _ no.  _ Nope. Not thinking about that. “I wish there was more I could do, I want to protect you, but I can’t do that if I’m halfway across the city.”

 

“Kara,” he breathes. The way he says her name always made her feel funny, it’s always a little awed, a little fond. She wants to think it means something, but. Well. That’s just food for thought. “You don’t have to worry, I can protect myself. While I appreciate the sentiment, it’s not necessary.”

 

“I know that,” she shakes her head, “but I worry anyway. With me, it’s kind of a package deal when it comes to caring for someone.”  _ And I care a lot about you. _

 

“This, I understand,” Brainy nods, voice wistfully far away. She wonders if he’s thinking about the friends he left behind on his time. “I also constantly worry for those I love. I admit it’s been a distraction, ever since Colonel Haley fired you.”

 

The world stops spinning.  _ “What?” Are you saying what I think you’re saying?  _ “Does this mean–”

 

If Brainy regrets his words, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he looks back collectedly at her, eyes calm and steady as always. “It means I love you, yes,” then, a little confused, “I was under the impression you knew?”

 

“No? I definitely did not know that,” Kara says, her own brain still rebooting itself because  _ what.  _ She thinks back on their conversations, all the way back to the first time they met– when did it happen? How did she not notice it? All the little things she had dismissed as wishful thinking– Kara laughs with disbelief, grinning with so much happiness that she’s sure it must be showing on her eyes.

 

“I take it this is good news, then?” Brainy asks, sounding nervous for the first time, and Kara nods emphatically, biting her lip to stop herself from saying something embarrassing. He sets both their bottles down on the table, before turning back to her, voice soft with affection, “can you kiss you right now?”

 

“Oh my god, yes please,” the words are rushed, letters running into each other, but Kara can’t bring herself to care, because Brainy is leaning down and– 

 

So, things might scary right now in a way that she had never seen before, but Brainy is kissing her and nothing makes you braver than requited love. At least for tonight, she thinks they will be okay. 


	46. Kara Danvers/Brainy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt:Karadox - “You look so comfy, and cuddle-able.” ❤💋  
>  **

**will you lie with me and just forget the world?**

 

Kara is officially off-duty tonight. 

 

Alex and J’onn had promised to take good care of her city, letting her hang up the cape for a little while and get some rest. 

 

God knows she could use it, after the whole Reign thing.

 

“Do you want chocolate ice cream or strawberry ice cream?” Brainy asks, stopping in the doorway between kitchen and living room. He has two cartons on his hands, holding them up for her with a serious expression, “it’s my understanding that this is a very important choice, so I should remind you  _ both  _ is also a valid option.”

 

She scrunches up her face dramatically, making a show of thinking it over before her face splits into a bright grin. “Thank you, but you’re incorrect,” she teases, “both is the  _ only  _ right answer.”

 

Brainy smiles, and outlined by the kitchen light, with the softest sweater Kara’s seen, he looks unbearably beautiful. Her breath catches on her throat, and she’s never been more grateful for a night off. “You look so comfy and cuddly,” she grins, giving him her best puppy eyes and opening her arms in invitation, “come hug me?”

 

He looks at the cartons on his hands, a conflicted look on his eyes, “but the ice cream–” it’s a weak objection, his heart clearly isn’t in it, more out of reflex than anything.

 

“Can wait a few minutes,” Kara offers, knowing full well she’s already won. She watches as he dumps the ice cream back on the fridge and comes back to the couch, settling in beside her. “Isn’t this nicer?” She asks, wrapping her arms around him, tugging him down until they’re both lying on the cushions.

 

His soft sigh would be answer enough, but Brainy presses a kiss to her hair, pulling her closer, lets her bury her face on his neck, “indeed,” he whispers.  _ I love you,  _ she hears. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! You can find me on my tumblr [here](https://rad-hoodd.tumblr.com/), so come say hi or send me a prompt!
> 
> and hey? Thanks.


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